


Dark War

by CyrexWingblade



Category: Jak and Daxter
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-10
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:27:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 109,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27483433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CyrexWingblade/pseuds/CyrexWingblade
Summary: Six months after Cyber Errol's defeat, Jak's world has started to recover from the Dark Makers and Metal Heads. But something stirs in the night, and the final attack on the Metal Heads is just the beginning. At least Seem is not blind to the danger.
Relationships: Ashelin Praxis/Torn, Daxter/Tess (Jak and Daxter), Keira Hagai/Jak, Seem/OC
Kudos: 17





	1. Introduction: Far Away in the Night

**Author's Note:**

> When this story was written, Jak 3 was the 'last' game in the series. For best understanding, this story takes the place of Jak X: Combat Racing, and turns the storyline into an AU from that point forward.

Stars flew through the void like fireflies swarming, and if they were fleeing something, it could well be believed. Something was further on, in that perfect darkness of cold space, coming closer, searching for something. Though fear was tightening its grip around her heart, she had to probe further, learn what she could from this alarming sensation. And then the stars stopped. Looming before her was a darkness too perfect for space. No stars beyond, no reflection, yet something was _there_ , just in front of her.

A great claw burst out of the darkness, onyx shadow itself, with rending talons glistening in faint starlight as they came clutching in around her, a horrible, haunting, rumbling sound coming from the massive limb’s source. She didn’t have time to think or react, it was rushing in, closing… Gone.

Seem opened her eyes with a controlled gasp. She was seated on a high ledge of the old Precursor temple, facing toward the distant volcano. Clearly, she had been meditating, her straight back and crossed legs implying it by posture. “It’s coming… and something is drawing it to this place…”

Her troubled eyes turned down across the desert, warm wind brushing against her face, whistling slightly around her Precursor armor and water-proofed body suit. It was near dawn, the sky just starting to tint blue off to the East. And then, the young monk looked to the sky, the orange and gold face-paint, framed with white, just becoming clearer with daylight. “Why here…?”

She rose to her feet, and swiftly returned to the temple’s interior. More had to be learned.


	2. A Haven Remade

The smell of oil, scorched metal, and fresh welding filled the air in the reconstructed racing garage. It was surprisingly small for a city’s major racing garage, but the mechanic didn’t need any more space. It was one large, rectangular room with two lifts for machine work, and a more private project room on the side, only divided (if desired) by a green curtain. At the moment, the curtain _was_ closed, and a rather large contraption was resting on the construction table there, a pair of overall-covered legs idly shifting from beneath as their owner tinkered with the undercarriage of what looked like a large Zoomer with an actual cockpit rather than just a saddle and handle-bars. It was little more than a skeleton of gray metal with a long, narrow design, but the idea was clear.

“Honestly… it’s… always… a single… bolt!” a young woman’s voice strained around obvious exertion until finally gasping with relief. Apparently the offending bolt had at last given way. “Finally!”

Sliding herself out on a back-board, Keira sat up, wiping her brow with a sleeve of her pale blue jump-suit. Her usual white shirt was visible near the open collar, and her leather, strap ‘boots’ (shoes with extremely tall tops strapped around the shin) still covered her slender feet. Her dark blue hair with green hints was in the same style as ever, two mildly loose locks on either side of her face, tugged behind her ears, and the rest smoothly flowing down into the nape of her neck, to puff out lightly just below around the back. Her large, bright green eyes were both soft, innocent, and intelligent, and fit her soft, tapered (one might say ‘pinched’) features very well. The dark blue work-goggles were, as usual, loose around her neck as well.

Picking herself up, the young, genius mechanic walked around her little project, busily mumbling to herself. “I’ve fixed that exhaust problem, but the power level is still too low for harsh weather conditions… Maybe if I rerouted the thrust vectoring along the flanks…” she turned around to eye the right side of the craft, standing near its nose, opposite the entrance to the little side-chamber, and promptly stopped short, looking up at the curtains with her mouth mildly agape.

Standing there, with an awkward, faint smile on his sharp, firm façade, blue eyes half-lidded, yet glimmering with a boyish innocence very like Keira’s own, was a young man in what appeared to be battle armor. It was coppery, glistening, obviously similar to Seem’s own attire, and it covered his legs, lower arms, middle, and shoulders. He wore a blue tunic beneath the armor, sleeves torn off, and a long, red scarf wrapped around his shoulders, torso, and trailing down his back from the right shoulder. His goatee and the roots of his hair were a bright green, fading to golden blonde near the tips of his longish, spiky mane.

“…Hi, Keira…” his low, almost rasping voice managed quietly, his left hand still holding the curtain back.

“J-Jak… hi… Um… What’s up?” the young woman managed back, obviously caught between excitement and painful awkwardness.

Each was blustering enough to miss the other doing so. Jak cleared his throat, finally stepping into the room, and waved the same hand dismissively. “Oh, just… Uh… Well, it’s good to see you, first,” he forced with a faint nod, “and it looks like there’s something your father, Ashelin, and Torn would like to have your input on after the race today. I-I would like your input too! I’ll be there, so, uh…” His left ear was itching… He did his best to scratch it nonchalantly, but the incredibly long, sharpened part of his body was hard to miss, especially being scratched.

Keira flashed a big smile. “Of course. I’ll be happy to help out if I can. Oh! And good luck on the race today! I know you’re the best, but please be careful out there, alright?”

He gave a thumbs up, able to handle the new topic much more easily. “Always, Keira.” Then he seemed to notice the large contraption on the work-table. “…New project?”

Keira flushed, scratching the back of her head. “Yeah. I’ve had the idea in my head since…” her expression fell, “well nevermind, I just had the idea since before the city got rebuilt, and during the reconstruction of the stadium sector, I found some good materials, so I got started.”

Jak stepped up to the table, and rested his hands on the frame. “Looks good, but you always build ‘em tough,” he offered with a mild smirk.

The young woman found it easy to grin back bashfully. “Thanks, Jak. Yeah, it’s a new Zoomer. …Designed for desert flying, long range.”

The young hero’s expression slackened abruptly. “Desert… flying? But I thought the sand-storms tore Zoomer engines to pieces in a few seconds?”

Keira grinned, and hopped in front of it, tapping the nose with her knuckles. “That’s exactly the problem this baby is going to fix! Safety sealed cockpit for the pilot, emergency oxygen supply tanks,” she pointed through the cockpit area itself, “for complete atmospheric seal in a severe storm, and modified vents that filter and resist sand moving up to three hundred miles an hour! If I ever get the poor thing finished, it should make desert travel a whole lot faster _and_ safer.”

Jak was smiling almost wistfully as he looked the frame over himself. “Sig is going to love this, Keira… And it might tie Spargus and Haven city together like never before!” He grinned at her. “You’re a genius.”

She just blushed again, giggling a bit. “I’m really glad to you like it, Jak.” Her eyes opened down at the ground. “…So… how’s Ashelin?”

The young man blinked at her, as if the question came out of nowhere to him. “Uh… I think she’s good. You can ask her after the race, I guess,” he finished with a mild laugh, obviously awkward again.

Keira managed a smile. “Of course, right. Thanks for the info, Jak.”

If she was going to say more, she stopped when a tone sounded over the loudspeakers. “Attention citizens, the reconstruction celebration race is about to start. Please takes your seats. Racers, please report to the starting line as soon as possible,” the monotone, female computer voice for the city’s PA system finished.

Jak jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “Gotta go. Good to see you, Keira. Good luck on the new Zoomer. And don’t worry, I’ll come back in one piece. Always do,” he finished with a confident smile.

Keira set her wrench down. “You better, but I’ll come watch.”

He grinned. “I’ll try to give you a good show then.” He quickly ran off.

Just as she was leaving the garage, Keira looked down the hall, to the open arches of the stadium entrance, and saw Daxter, in his special pants and orange and yellow fur, scurry after Jak and leap onto his shoulder, Tess giggling as she trotted after them on her own furry little legs. The two ottsels were, in fact, planning on getting married soon.

Keira sighed easily, and moved along after them, to the other side of the arena, where she could get to the seats. “Amazing progress for just six months of work on a ruined city… I shouldn’t be so down.” She put on a smile, which grew more sincere, and hurried into the stadium.

“Keira! Over here!” a very familiar, gravely old voice shouted animatedly to her as she came out of the short ingress hall.

She looked over to her right, and saw Samos the Sage, her father, with his tall, log sandals, white hair wrapped around the trunk of a small tree on his head, and the little bird that always fluttered around it. “Daddy!” she called happily, and ran over, dropping down beside him and giving him a big hug.

The old sage was a bit startled, but laughed easily. “That’s my girl. I was worried you weren’t coming…” His multi-lensed glasses focused his magnified eyes on her with some concern.

Keira blinked. “Why wouldn’t I?”

He smirked in a knowing way. “Fair enough, sorry then, sweetie. And did Jak tell you about the meeting?”

She smiled again. “Yep. Don’t worry, I’ll be there.” Then she looked down to the starting line. Spotting Jak, she waved, and he and Daxter both waved back, giving a thumbs up. Keira giggled. “Those two never change.”

Samos eyed her sidelong, seeming amused mischievously by something. “Indeed, not.”

“So where are Ashelin and Torn? I thought they, at least, would be here?” Keira continued simply, her eyes scanning the other racers as they lined up.

“Some last minute business kept us busy.”

Even Samos was a bit startled, he and his daughter staring to the left abruptly to see the red-haired governor in her tightly fitting, old Krimzon Guard uniform, and the tall, lanky resistance leader in her wake. Ashelin smiled, setting one hand on her notoriously obvious hip. “Did you really think we’d miss one of the biggest public events since the city’s reconstruction got under way?”

Keira giggled. “Sorry, should’ve known.”

Ashelin smiled easily, and gave Torn a dry nod to the bench. He smirked a bit, and sat down with her. Torn’s hair was a bit more faded than Ashelin’s, and they both had the KG tattoos patterned over their faces, almost like battle-paint. His blue eyes were always sharp, but hid a nobility and loyalty that Keira found difficult to match, possibly only to the same extent in Jak. His blue tunic and pants were almost hidden by red scarves, the comm.-system rig on his collar with the thick piping leading back over his shoulders, and the layered armor running down his right arm, two blaster pistols on his hips. He was just such a street-fighter Keira couldn’t really picture him in another role.

“Jak’s never too busy for a race. Can’t say I’m surprised,” Torn spoke finally, crossing his arms with a faint smirk, belying the true degree of his happiness. His gravelly, low voice, surprisingly rasped for such a young man, helped him maintain the harsh image quite well.

Keira just smiled, and Samos nodded. “Even as a child he was always up for a thrill.”

The last Zoomer pulled up on Jak’s right, and Keira’s brow creased. “A Freedom League guard?”

Ashelin and Torn both focused down where she was looking. Indeed, the blue, armored uniform of a city guard hid the slender, tall frame of the last driver. Ashelin finally shrugged. “Not a big deal. Most of the guard got the day off in recognition of their hard work, I’m not surprised one of them wanted to race, and the armor is good for any… accidents.”

Keira frowned thoughtfully, and let the issue fade.

Daxter, as always, was on his best friend’s shoulder, and looked over at the latest driver. “Well if it isn’t the city guard. Get tired of driving those gun-boats, kiddo?”

Jak finally looked over to see the guard just stare at Daxter for a moment, his face completely hidden. Jak shook his shoulder to get the ottsel’s attention. “Just leave ‘im alone, Dax. Those guards have had a hard enough time as it is.” He looked ahead seriously. Though it wasn’t really his fault, he did feel responsible for all the suffering the city had gone through since he took down Metal Kor just over a year and a half ago now.

“Right, right. Sorry,” Daxter quickly moved on, his rare bit of sincerity coming through.

The starting timer began, and Jak smirked, leaning back into his seat on the racing Zoomer. It was just the class 1 track, but a race was a race. He’d floor it from the green light.

The buzzer and light changed, and he shot off, leaping the Zoomer just over the guard’s head, causing an exclamation of shock, and shot around the first turn, nabbing a booster activation sphere. “Hold on, Dax!”

“Always!” the little rodent squealed, his fingers clawing to the hero’s shoulder as they rushed down around the curves and into the first tunnel.

Jak boosted the moment they hit the booster-sphere in the tunnel, and shot off even harder, but instead of taking the sharp right, he shot clear across the gap, threading the needle, and landing into a turn. He saved the remaining boost he had, but then he heard it.

A loud scraping roar, and then a blast of wind as another Zoomer shot right past him. Jak blinked in shock for a half-second, and then grinned. “Now we’re racing. Hold ON!”

Boom. He boosted after the other Zoomer, leaping the second gap in the road, and snapped around the next curves in the tunnel, just catching up to his rival as they both leapt free of the tunnel, slamming onto the open track again, swerving into the next curve.

It was the city guard. Jak watched him as they took the turn in unison. _Whoa… he knows what he’s doing alright. Total control._ His smile only grew. He hadn’t been expecting a real challenge, but it was more than welcome.

Finishing the first lap of five, Jak swerved in the wake of the guard, and slipped through the booster-sphere closest to the wall, the guard taking the middle. They flowed down into the big arc leading into the tunnel, and Jak boosted a bit earlier this time, shooting ahead of the guard, and leaping the gap once more. He heard the guard shoot across the gap after him as he landed, and hit another boost-sphere. Jak laughed. “Hold on, Dax! We’re goin’ for it!”

Daxter swallowed. “You mean? Oh no…”

Instead of taking the ramp into the jump, Jak boosted, and jumped the Zoomer itself, clearing the gap in half the air time. To his shock, however, the guard shot in on his left. He’d taken the same jump and boost on the other side of the ramp! Now they were neck and neck.

“You _do_ know how to race!” Jak shouted.

“Why thank you!” the other driver shouted back as they swerved around the tight left, snaking into the immediate right.

“Gotta go!” Jak called back with a laugh, and boosted immediately out of the right turn, shooting and decelerating just right to avoid flying off the track from the ascent onto the open track again.

He was airborne for a few seconds even so, and the guard caught up to his thruster trail, the two swerving into the next curve.

“Likewise!” the guard shouted, and abruptly boosted, shooting down the straightaway.

Jak’s brow creased. “Time to get serious, this guy really knows what he’s doing, Dax.”

“Just so long as you do, too!” his friend wailed as they shot around the corner after the guard, lap two finished.

Keira and the others watched in surprise. “That guard is one heck of a driver!” Keira herself exclaimed as the two leaders of the race finished the second lap. “I haven’t seen Jak work this hard for a win since he faced Errol in the class 3 championship.”

“Me neither,” Ashelin admitted with a faint shake of her head. “They just keep trading first and second place with their boosts.”

Torn leaned onto his knees gravely. “I respect Jak’s ability, but isn’t he pushing that Zoomer a little fast into those turns?”

Keira nodded. “Yeah, but he can handle it. He’s had plenty of practice hitting marks at high speed,” she giggled at last, remembering all the cooling balloons she’d released for him to use her heat-shielded Zoomer to get to Gol and Maia’s citadel back in the past.

Ashelin had pulled up a data-board. “I want to know who that League guard is… I didn’t know we had any pilots that good.”

As Jak and the guard continued to race, the crowd was getting more and more excited. He and the mysterious racer were neck and neck most of the time, or trading for the lead with dangerously timed boosts. They were already on the fourth lap when Ashelin gawked down at the data-board. “Torn, look at this…”

He took the offered board, and slowly started to chuckle. “That makes a lot of sense. That meeting might be a little awkward later, though.”

Keira looked over. “Who is it?”

Ashelin answered, “Commander Frost. He joined the League guard after the palace collapsed, and steadily worked his way up through the ranks. He’s now head of our Metal-Head defense battalion, and it’s mostly thanks to his work that we can rebuild the city now. He’s also the one who called for the meeting.”

Keira blinked. “Goodness… and he’s a great racer, too? I guess Jak’s not the only talented warrior in Haven City.”

“Mmm, fascinating…” Samos muttered, watching the race just as the two shot past the finish of the fourth lap.

Jak’s heart was pounding, and while he was having fun, the race was getting hard enough to worry him, too. The guard was right on him, constantly, and they were driving too hard and fast to make any mistakes, even mild slips. They had practically lapped the other racers already.

They burnt down the starting turns, and shot into the tunnel. Rocketing across the jumps at insanely high speed, they slipped around the snake-turns, waited until they each crested the rise back onto the open track, and both boosted at once, accelerating into it even so.

Keira’s eyes widened. “That’s way too fast for that turn! Jak!” she cried out in spite of herself.

The mood abruptly turned from excitement to horror for all of Jak’s friends as they watched, fractions of a second drawing out impossibly. The two Zoomers were locked, nose-to-nose, accelerating to the max, straight for a right-angle turn. The guard started to pull wide slowly, hoping to keep his speed through the turn, but Jak just charged the turn, his eyes sharpening.

“Jak…?” Daxter moaned warily, already streaming back behind his friend, barely clinging to his shoulder. “ _JAAAK!_ ”

In a flash, it was done. Jak swerved and braked as hard as he could into the turn, the guard scraping high into the guarding wall, almost upside-down, and greatly slowed by the grinding of metal on metal. Jak boosted down the straightaway, his rival boosting down after him, but they both knew it was already over.

Jak shot over the line, swerving to a halt as the guard slowed to an easy stop, and set his feet on the ground on either side of the Zoomer. Keira folded over herself with relief, Ashelin patting her back, but realizing with some surprise how serious the relief on the other woman’s face was. “…You were really worried…?”

Keira just nodded quietly. _He never pushed it that hard before… he knows better…_

Down on the track, as the other racers slowed to a stop, the guard finally pulled his helmet off and tugged the comm-mask down. He was quite young, around Jak’s age, with spiky, short, black hair, and bright blue eyes. His features were sharper than Jak’s, but when he smiled the hero was already well-disposed to trust him. Jak walked over, Daxter kissing the track lovingly back near their own Zoomer, and offered his hand. “One heck of a race. What’s your name?”

Slipping off his own Zoomer, the guard shook his hand firmly. “Frost. It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”

Jak smiled. “I haven’t been called ‘sir’ before. Why honored?”

Frost shrugged a bit. “Might consider it a family thing. Ever since you took out Metal Kor, we’ve considered you the savior of the city. And I’d like you to know there were people here in Haven who never believed you were the cause of the more recent problems.”

Jak was more affected than he would have preferred to admit, so he calmly smiled and tipped his head. “Thanks… I appreciate it. I didn’t know the guard had such talented drivers, though. How long have you been in the force?”

Daxter finally trotted up, his tail swishing in his wake. “Next time, think you could avoid making him drive even more like a maniac than usual?” he challenged Frost directly with his old, mocking tone.

Frost just crouched down and offered his hand. “Sorry, sir. An honor to meet you, too.”

Daxter wasn’t used to such a response to his manner, and so he blinked, caught, before sheepishly offering his little furry hand. “Ah… sure… no problem, kid…”

Frost stood back up. “Sorry. I joined a little after the palace collapsed, actually.”

Jak turned grave. “…That was brave of you. That was a hard time…” he looked down. “Sorry I wasn’t there.”

“It’s foolish to depend on one person, however powerful, for all our hopes and dreams,” Frost replied calmly. “I learned that mistake for myself. If more people had joined the guard initially, maybe we could have helped stop these problems before they destroyed half the city.” He abruptly looked down, his throat catching. “Sorry… Anyway, I’m actually the one who called for the meeting after the race, so I hope to see you there?”

Jak’s brow creased at the hidden emotion in the young man’s voice, but nodded easily. “I’m on my way now, actually.”

Frost grinned. “Me, too.”

They shared a light laugh, Daxter finally doing so as well, and started off together. Once they were out of the track area proper, Samos and the others came down to meet them. Jak smiled back at them, and when they came together, Frost stood to attention and saluted Ashelin and Torn.

“At ease,” Torn replied with a calm salute of his own. “We didn’t know you could drive like that, Frost. We’ll keep it in mind.”

Frost allowed himself a smile. “I’ll be ready, sir.”

Keira did smile, but her worry was still obvious. “Jak?”

He focused on her. “Yeah, Keira?” He was still high on the exhilaration of victory, and didn’t quite realize what her expression might mean.

“I wish you’d be a little more careful. You know the race Zoomer can’t handle sharp turns at high speed very well. You never pushed it that far before.”

Jak’s expression turned firm. “Well, what’d you want me to do, lose the race?”

Keira winced, the others watching awkwardly. “No, that’s not what I… I just want you to be careful. I know you push the limits to get things done, and you’ve always pulled through before, but that’s no reason to risk your life just for one exhibition race.”

Frost’s calm eyes shifted from one to the other along with everyone else, Daxter cringing back a bit. Jak was obviously fuming at the idea of doing less than his best, and though he’d never met her, Frost knew Keira by reputation, and could see how sincerely worried she had been. So he quickly spoke. “Forgive the interruption, Keira, but that was really my fault. I pushed it to the limits as well, and Jak really didn’t have another way to beat me. I apologize for putting your friend in danger.”

She wasn’t expecting such an abrupt change of speaker, and so Keira was stuck for a heart-beat, looking at Frost in a mixture of awkwardness, sadness, and confusion. Jak almost rounded on the guard Commander before his more clear-headed thinking came through. He raised his hand between them. “I appreciate it, Frost, but actually, she’s right. I was just a little hot-blooded from the race.” He looked to Keira sincerely. “I didn’t mean to worry you, but I knew I could handle the turn. I know you trust me, Keira, so please…”

Dizzy from her emotions, Keira just looked down with a soft nod, practically scarlet. She felt like she’d only just noticed the others all around them. _Why did I bring this up like this!?_ “…Yeah, of course. Thanks, Jak. I’m sorry…”

Samos spoke instantly. “Now let’s get to that meeting in the new League Headquarters. It took this long to get it built, may as well put it to good use.”

Ashelin shook her head free of the distracting mood. “Yeah, of course. Commander Frost, Torn, come on.”

Samos fell in behind them, leaving Keira with Jak and Daxter. She kept her eyes down, a blush staying on her cheeks. Jak didn’t speak either, guilt weighing heavily on his mind for snapping at her. Daxter was stuck walking along between them, his eyes dismal until Tess shot through, barreling him over with a loud grunt.

Jak and Keira both giggled, caught themselves with an awkward look into each other’s eyes, and quickly walked on as Daxter warred with Tess over walking and hugging at the same time.

* * *

The slums, bazaar, and stadium sectors of Haven City had been steadily rebuilt over the past few months. In fact, only the remaining Metal-Heads holding the old botanical garden area remained as a force against the city looking fully restored, even a new fortress waiting at the heart of the city. Not so monolithic as the Baron’s old palace, this practical training facility, shelter, and stronghold was built low to the ground, only twice the height of the general buildings around the city, and was a pale gray hue instead of the domineering red scheme of the old palace.

At the top of the central tower was an expansive control center with a holo-table in the center. Torn, Ashelin, Frost, Keira, Samos, Jak, and Daxter were organized around the table. Frost had his helmet off still, but cut quite the figure in his pale blue and silver armor.

Ashelin spoke first. “We’ve called this meeting to hear Commander Frost’s plans for the Metal-Head nest in the west part of the city. He’s been the master-mind behind keeping them in check since Jak took out the main hive tower and the Dark Maker threat. I’d say a fair amount of our current success is due to him and Jak each. Commander?” she turned it over to him with a casual glance.

Frost was blushing a bit, but coughed and smiled. “Though I think the governor makes me sound more than I am, I do have a plan I wish to run by all of you. I believe we can clear out the Metal-Heads permanently, and start reconstructing the gardens within the month.”

“So soon?” Samos asked first.

The young Commander nodded, touching a few controls on the table’s edge. The red holograms shifted into a topographical map of the city, which then zoomed in on the Metal-Head nest area. “I’ve had one of the R&D sections working on a way of neutralizing the compounds the Metal-Heads use to corrupt an environment, and their most recent prototypes have proved ninety-eight percent effective.” He pushed another button, and the nest area began to shift, the details of the Metal-Head structures fading away. “We’ve already produced enough to neutralize what’s in the old garden area. What we need,” he started as he focused up through the hologram on Keira, who raised her eyebrows, “is a delivery system for the chemicals. Fast-acting, and easily installed.”

Before anyone could respond, he continued, “If one can be developed, I’ve worked on a tactical strategy that should end this problem in one operation. We prepare forces in Haven Forest and the dock access, and storm the nest from two fronts. The first wave clears the area, so the second can back them up, and the third can start installing the delivery system. This will push the Metal-Heads back to the remains of the old hive tower, where some properly placed explosives will bring that sucker right down into the same chemicals we’re using to clean the rest of the area. It all melts, drained into the sewers, in which I’ve prepared a special waste-tank to keep this muck out of the water supply.”

The map shifted again, completely empty. “Construction can begin within _days_ of the assault.”

Everyone was silent at first. Torn finally managed. “Quite a plan, Frost… You’ve been working on this for a while…”

The commander nodded faintly. “The gardens were my sister’s favorite part of the city. I’d like to bring them back.”

Jak’s brow creased. “Were?”

Frost didn’t look away from the hologram. “She died when the palace fell. Along with her husband and two children.”

Keira, Samos, even Torn eased back faintly, shocked at the revelation from the calm young man’s voice. Finally, he looked over at Keira again. “I was hoping you could help with this part, Keira. Your technical genius is famous in Haven City. Have any ideas?”

Keira took a moment to collect herself, but when she finally focused back on the hologram, her expression creased with focus. “…Actually, yes. What’s the timeline you have set for this assault?” she asked, pointing at the dock-side of the invasion.

“Hopefully no more than an hour from storming the gate to beginning pumping of the chemicals. Then, we need them pumped fast enough from both entry paths to fill the central channel within an hour more. Asking our guards to hold those openings for more than two hours is just… not going to work.”

Ashelin pointed at it. “This is a full-scale invasion, Frost. You’d need every guard in the city.”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

Keira was troubled. “And to fill the central channel completely, you would need hundreds of tons of these chemicals you’ve produced. Where have you stored them?”

“In the same tank that’s going to hold all the muck when it’s done. We used the old palace support cables as pipes.”

Keira’s eyes lit up, the others were simply shocked. “It’s already rigged?”

Frost tipped his head. “Yes, ma’am. It takes nearly ten hellcat cruisers to pull a section of the pipe at low speed, but we’ve already placed half of them at the dock side.”

Keira pointed to the dock entrance. “Move them all there, and I’ll work on something to fill the whole channel from here in less than an hour. I’ll need exact numbers on how much you have, and your calculations on what’s needed, and how much and what density of material will be produced when the corrosion is done. That way, you can send a force to the Haven Forest entrance as a distraction, keeping their forces divided.”

Frost raised an eyebrow, the others just as surprised at her plan. “And an excellent tactician…” the young woman blushed a bit. “If you can make us that kind of device, those pipes will be there when you need them.”

Keira smiled. “Can you give me two weeks?”

“I can, certainly…” He looked to Ashelin. “It’s up to you, governor.”

She had her arms crossed, but was thoughtful, not troubled. “…And how are you going to bring the tower down?”

Frost touched the controls again, and a modified hellcat appeared, sporting rather large missiles under the two wing-like extensions on the sides. “I’ll pilot this heavy-assault cruiser in, and blow out the nest-side base of the tower. I’ve had specialists programming the targeting rig and everything. It’ll be precise.”

“Alone?” Torn checked gravely.

“It’s the most dangerous part of the mission, and it’s my plan. I’m also the most eligible pilot, sir.” He glanced to Jak. “…Under your command, anyway.”

Jak smirked, crossing his arms. “I wouldn’t mind it.”

Ashelin was smiling, about to respond, when Frost raised his hand, obviously anxious. They focused on him again.

“I don’t mean to seem arrogant, but I was hoping you,” he was looking at Jak, “would be part of the defense for the pumps. The Metal-Heads will be all over them, especially if they only come from one entry point.” He saw Keira’s expression turn anxious again as well, and it started to tie a knot in his stomach.

Torn nodded to Frost. “He’s got a point, Jak. You’re the best fighter we have… for obvious reasons.”

“True…” Jak looked over to the governor. “Ashelin?”

She nodded, looking down at the hologram. “They’re both right. It’s a good plan, Commander Frost. Make it happen. Keira, please get to work.”

The other young woman grinned. “Right away!”

Frost exhaled with a faint smile. “Thank you all.”

Ashelin clapped his shoulder. “Believe me, if this works, we’ll all be thanking you.”


	3. Hero

Keira had been given access to a large cargo bay suitable for constructing large machines, and once she’d gotten some basic ideas down, she was quite pleased to get it. Late at night, a week and a half after she’d agreed to work on the project, the entire bay was very dark, save for one lamp at a desk in the back corner, and the young woman was fast asleep on the desk, sketches, small parts, and blue-prints arrayed around and beneath her.

A door hissed open slowly, and a silhouette moved through, armored boots softly clunking off the cement floor. The shadow drew closer to her desk, and paused with a mildly amused sigh. Commander Frost walked around the desk, and spotted a blanket lying over the corner of an old storage crate they hadn’t been cleared out of the bay yet. He took it, and gently lay it over the young woman’s back. “…Hard worker…”

Keira stirred with a muffled moan, her eyebrows shifting. Frost backed away, seeing if she would wake fully or not. Indeed, her bright green eyes fluttered open, and she pulled herself upright, noticing the blanket over her first. “O-oh! Frost, hi…”

He smiled easily for her. “Just came to check on you. Why don’t you head home for the night, ma’am?”

She giggled. “I don’t have a rank, Frost. Just call me Keira.”

“Oh? Seems a very nice name to let a brute like me use,” he replied in good humor.

Though she just laughed, a faint blush was glowing on her cheeks. “Thanks…” She stretched for a moment, gasped with relief, and patted her hands down on the desk. “Well, since you’re here… Things are going a little slow, but my design will work. I know it’s dangerous to put all our eggs in one basket, but we just don’t have the means to make more than one in the time-line, and this one will do the job.”

Frost looked back at a monolithic shadow behind him. “It’s one heck of a pump, Keira. Must crank out a great deal of force.”

“It does,” Keira admitted gravely. “That’s why I’ll be going right along with it to keep the pressure levels carefully monitored.”

Frost rounded on her in alarm. “You? In a combat zone? I can’t let you do that, Keira. I have no way of guaranteeing your safety!”

She was a bit stunned by the abruptness of his change in tone, but he immediately became apologetic.

“I didn’t mean to snap, I’m sorry, but… Please, I’ll have one of my guards come learn how it operates from you…” he trailed off as he saw her shake her head.

“If I had more time, I could make it more user-friendly, but as it is, it’s too complicated to trust to someone who didn’t build it. There are signs I’ll know to listen for and see without having an actual read-out or control to adjust. Besides, it’s about time I gave a little back to the city myself.”

Frost gave her an incredulous look. “If you’ve done _half_ the things I’ve heard about you, you’ve given plenty back already. Besides, Jak would never forgive me for putting you in harms way.”

Keira glanced down abruptly, sadness etching across her features. Frost paused carefully, and then spoke in a softened, concerned tone. “…Has something happened between the two of you?”

She shook her head. “No,” she put her hands on the table, “that’s the problem.” Standing up, she turned away from Frost, and held her hands together in front of herself. “You remember when he got kicked out of the city?”

“…Of course.”

“I didn’t…” She twisted around, her eyes shivering with emotion, “I was his friend, Frost! And I didn’t do _anythin_ _g_ to help him! We were close! I thought we-!” she cut herself off and looked down to the side. A tight sob choked her, and she hid her face with her hands.

Frost eased closer. “Keira… it’ll be okay…” She started to cry, and he came close enough to hold her shoulders gently. “Cry if you like, but it will be. We all need to let our emotions out, so relax, cry as much as you like…”

She paused a bit, looking pitifully up at him, and then flung her arms around his shoulders, breaking down in his arms. Frost let his expression fall sorrowfully, eyes closing, as he just held her about the shoulders in return, keeping the blanket over her in the cool, garage-like room. “There you go… just let it out… You can think clearly later…”

Her shivering, gasping voice started to speak anyway. “I didn’t mean… to abandon him! I just… didn’t… didn’t know what to do! I didn’t see… any… options… I knew he’d be in danger! I came up with that desert… Zoomer for him! But… Ashelin… was… was there… for him when… he needed it… not me… _not me…_ ” she whispered painfully, squeezing Frost as if it would push the pain out of her heart.

Frost finally reached up and stroked her hair softly. It was like his sister was back in his arms, when they were younger, crying over some boyfriend or even just a doll that broke when they were children. He pushed his selfish reminiscence out of his mind, and remembered exactly who was crying in his arms, and why. “Keira… Ashelin respects Jak… more than most because of… well, he’s a hero, and there weren’t any heroes in her life until he came along. He gave her something to believe in. But you’ve known Jak all your life, you know _Jak_ , not a hero. I can tell he cares very much about you. Don’t despair about this until you know things for sure. Give him that chance, alright?”

Keira’s eyes opened past his arm, surprised. It was as if she knew everything Frost had said, but just didn’t believe it until someone else said it. Then she realized she was clinging to the poor man like a frightened little girl, and quickly pulled back, blushing. He let her, his arms snapping open and falling to his sides as she let her hands down from his shoulder armor. “S-sorry…I… thank you…” she looked down, her face turning redder with each heart-beat.

A hand rested softly on her shoulder, and she looked up into a kind smile. “Hey, we all have tough times. I’m happy I could be a shoulder to cry on, if you found it welcome. If not… sorry for intruding.”

Keira instantly shook her head. “No, no! I mean… it was… I appreciated it…” she smiled again. “And…” she raised the blanket over her shoulders with her hands.

Frost laughed softly, shaking his head. “No problem.”

She looked back to her desk, smiling wistfully. “It’s funny, though. For a little while, during that Dark Maker fiasco… it was like the old Jak was back, Daddy and I helping him while he took on everything for us… You’re right, Frost, I’ve known Jak all my life… and he’s been my hero for the last few years anyway.” She looked up at her new friend. “If he’s connected with Ashelin… I don’t want to steal that from either of them. I should have… proven I cared before.”

She started to turn away, but the hand more urgently touched her shoulder, and she looked back with concern into Frost’s intense, but sorrowfully passive eyes. “Love doesn’t need proof, it simply acts or not. You know, in your heart, you did everything you could for him. Do all three of you a favor, and talk to Jak about this situation. It may not be what you think, after all.”

He spoke with such sincerity and depth of feeling, that Keira abruptly realized a great deal about him. Her own expression became softened with sympathy, and she touched the hand on her shoulder. “…Poor Frost, I wasn’t thinking… Of course… you did everything you could for your sister, too.”

It startled him, she could see it clearly in his abruptly widened eyes, and his hand shivered under hers. He calmed, looked down, and pulled his hand from hers carefully. “…Did I? If more people, like me, had joined the guard…”

“You had your reasons for not joining it, I’m sure. That you joined now, and have done so much, means you had a real sense of duty, even back then, or you wouldn’t have just jumped up and joined at all.”

Frost turned aside, wiping one hand down his un-tattooed face. “…I thought they’d become another Kay-Gee, and I just didn’t want to be part of that mess… But I realized they weren’t soon enough, I could’ve joined… helped stop Veger…”

Keira came a little closer, and softly put her hand on his shoulder this time. “I guess… neither of us should look at the past like that. It’s done… and we can do more now.”

His eyes lightened, and then he looked up at her, patting her hand. “…How right you are, Keira.”

“And I’m still running this thing,” she finished dryly, nodding at the huge shadow behind her.

Frost turned dismal, his arms sinking. “Since you’re not under my command, I can’t really say yea or nay to the matter, but you better tell Jak for me, because I’m not getting in the way of him and his temper. I’ve heard those stories, as much as I respect him as a hero.”

Keira gave him a playfully annoyed look, but then nodded. “Fair enough… and I’ll ask him about… that as well.”

Frost grinned. “Brave woman.”

She giggled.

* * *

Jak and Torn were both leaning on the holo-table in the command center of the fortress, debating some of the details of the dispersal for the troops in the attack on the nest. Torn jabbed his finger down at the heart of the nest. “What bugs me is that these Metal-Heads have gotten real quiet over the past few days. Frost’s border teams reported a noticeable drop in skirmishes. I think they’re preparing something…”

Jak nodded, rubbing his chin. “You’re right. Metal-Heads are only quiet when they’re building for a bigger attack. Maybe Frost’s plan is just what the doctor ordered?”

The door opened behind them. It was early in the morning after Keira’s talk with Frost, so neither of the two at the table bothered to look up and see who it was. Likely just the day-crew coming in.

“Hey.”

Jak abruptly looked over his left shoulder, and saw a gently smiling Keira in her overalls—and mildly oil-stained—standing there. “…Hey… Something up with the pump?”

That it was his first assumption was both extremely practical and very hurtful for her, but she kept her smile. “No, actually I needed to talk with you about a couple of things. …One of them related to the pump, yeah.”

Now thoroughly confused, Jak took a moment to turn to Torn. “I’ll be back.”

Torn just nodded, and Jak walked aside with Keira. “So… what’s up?”

Keira felt like a melon was lodged in her throat, but forced herself to stay light-hearted. “First, about the pump… It’s complicated, so I’ll need to operate it myself during the assault.”

Jak’s eyes flared. “What!? Keira, I can’t let you do that! Tell me how to run it, I’ll make sure it’s…” he trailed off to her slowly shaking head and knowing smile.

“The attack force needs your gun with you behind it. I’m the only person that can properly man that pump once it’s finished and in position. Frost just insisted I clear it with you before he got blamed for letting me go.”

Jak set his hands on his hips. “And he was right. Keira, you’ve never been in a battle-zone like what’s going to come charging at you in there!” he gestured firmly to the side. “They will _tear you apart_ if they get the chance! I can’t let that happen to you!”

The combination of Keira’s startled expression and the sudden realization of how loud his own voice was made him stop and ease back, anxious. “Uh… what I mean is… you… You don’t need to be in danger like that. I’m sure you can build that thing to run fully automatic anyway…”

“Yes, if I had more time.” She was starting to smile and she wasn’t even sure why. He’d just been so worried about her (and so immediately).

Jak frowned, but looked down. He knew she was the only person that could solve an emergency problem, which meant she was about the only person _worth_ having on the mission. But her being in danger… He could just see Metal-Heads swarming at her, leaping in for the… He shook his head, rubbing his forehead slowly. “…Alright… but you promise me one thing,” he added firmly, looking her in the eyes with a faint bow to his head.

Keira had never seen him so intent and grave, not directly to her at least. “…Yeah, okay…”

“If we start to lose ground, and you see Metal-Heads coming for you… get _out_ of there, and don’t look back for a second, just run as fast as you can,” he listed off rapidly and with surprising focus in his lowered voice.

Keira was quite touched by his concern and sincerity, but she turned serious as well. “…Would you?”

He blinked, confused, but then turned grave again, the two locking gazes as equals in a new way. They’d never been like this, both preparing for a war. Jak had gone through it many times with Daxter… but not with Keira. They’d never ‘had each other’s back’ in that kind of way. Jak finally exhaled, and said, “You don’t know how to fight like I can. If I was in your situation, yes.”

Keira’s frustration flared for a heart-beat, he could see it, but she stopped short, and looked down. He had a very good point. “…Alright. If I see them breaking through, I’ll run.”

Jak smiled, and put a hand on her shoulder. “Thanks, Keira… So,” he let his hand down, “what else was there?”

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, and her eyes flickered. “Ah… oh! N-nothing, really, I… just…” her eyes tightened, and she focused, “Can I ask you something personal, Jak?”

He blinked. “Uh… like what?”

Keira gawked. “A-ah, I…” _Just ask it! Ask if he’s involved with Ashelin! Or wants to be!_ “I just… Are you and…”

Jak wasn’t any less confused, but when he heard the ‘and’, he raised his eyebrows. “…Me and who?”

Keira looked down, blushing. “I just wanted to know if… you and Ashelin were… together.”

Jak’s eyes flared, and he actually blushed himself. “A-Ashelin and I…? Together? K-Keira, I mean… sure we kissed once, but-!” he instantly realized it was the wrong thing to say.

Keira’s face collapsed, and her eyes just stayed wide for a horribly long stretch of time.

His jaw slack for a bit. “Uh… well, okay, yes, we kissed. It was after I took out Errol on the Dark Maker, I’m pretty sure she was just saying thank you, and it’s not like she’s ugly, so… seemed like a nice idea at the time… But, no… we’re not together. She and Torn have more of a thing than she does with me, anyway.”

The young woman swallowed, and her eyes were watery, but she slowly nodded. It was the strangest combination of pain and relief she’d ever felt. “So… you’re not _with_ her…?”

Jak shook his head, but knew the damage was already done. “I… didn’t know it would bother you like this…” _…I don’t think I would’ve let it happen if I did, but… I should have stopped it anyway, shouldn’t I…?_ Looking at Keira that moment seemed to clarify so much for him. He’d always found her attractive, so intelligent and helpful, but not weak-willed in the slightest. It was simply… being banished, he’d decided to sever his ties, stay independent. Ashelin helped him get past that, but in many ways… He hadn’t yet.

Keira also realized something abruptly. _I always thought I’d be the first, didn’t I? We came so close… twice even, but…_

“Keira?”

She looked up, his voice softer, more like what she’d always expected his voice to be when he’d been a quiet young man in the country. “Yeah?” She forced an easy smile, but her tightened throat and watery eyes spoiled it.

“…I’m sorry for pushing you away after…” He just shook his head, and stepped closer, embracing her.

She was surprised, but then wrapped her arms around him. “Thanks, Jak. …Thank you so much,” she whispered more emphatically.

“And thanks for coming to me about it… I’m so bull-headed, I probably wouldn’t have noticed until it was too late.” They separated, and he looked in her eyes for a thoughtful moment. It was all flooding back abruptly, the childish fondness he’d always had of her, growing into a subtle longing when he first became Baron Praxis’ prisoner. But she wasn’t his to hold… not yet. He’d hurt her—badly—and he needed to make up for that.

Keira sincerely smiled. “…I missed you…”

Jak grinned. “I missed you, too. Now what do you say we send these Metal-Heads packing?”

Grinning back, she gave a thumbs up. “Definitely!”

* * *

The heavily industrialized avenue that led from the docks to the opening of the old gardens, what was then the Metal-Head nest, was a wide, long, hall-like structure. It would keep any attack, from either side, bottle-necked until reaching the dock itself. It kept the Metal-Head attacks concentrated in one area, as it was the only direct access to the city they had. Commander Frost had added a new element to it, however. A guard-wall as high as the walls of the city, with various manners of opening for various sizes of troops, vehicles, and larger weapon systems. It had two towers at the top, where a full crew of city guards were stationed, with regular shift changes, constantly. Behind the defense wall remained a garrison of Freedom League guards and a hellcat cruiser unit.

The morning of the assault, however, things were different. At the defense wall, the troops spread to either side as bomb-bots, four-legged, laser-turret armed, robotic bombs that had, in fact, been used against the Freedom League, since the resistance, by the KG, marched up, armored in the blue colors of the Freedom League this time. Four of them in total, they marched up in square formation, and halted near the heavy defense wall. Two more full units of hellcats hovered to a halt above them, sixteen in addition to the original eight stationed with the wall, and two more full garrisons of guards marched in behind them.

A large space had been left just near the defense wall, and four troop-carriers, thrusters burning at full, swept down, carrying a large, box-like machine in tow-cables attached to their ventral hulls.

A final hellcat flew down from the docks as the transport ships lowered the big machine to the ground with a loud boom, and then detached their cables, quickly flying off. The latest hellcat arrival swept down beside the huge machine, and hovered just over the ground. Frost was piloting it, and Jak, with Daxter perched on his shoulder, hopped out of the gun-turret on the back, Keira slipping out of the passenger side.

“I’m going to make sure the Haven Forest force is ready to go, keep us coordinated, and then I’ll go prep the bomb-ship,” Frost explained quickly, starting to rise back into the air as Jak, Daxter, and Keira looked up after him.

Jak waved. “We’ll watch for the signal. Come back in one piece, Frost!”

The city guard commander chuckled, and waved down to them. “You ,too. The three of you!” And he shot off into the sky at full speed.

Keira quickly trotted over to her pump machine, climbing up a ladder to a small chair and command console situated in the back, top, right-hand corner of the big, boxy machine. It was three times of the height of a person, and twice as wide as a hellcat. Jak walked up on the machine’s right, pulling out his morph-gun and setting it to Blaster out of habit, an elongated, more precise weapon for general use.

“Are you sure this thing can move in there on its own _with_ the cable attached?”

Keira grinned to herself, adjusting some controls. Wheels, broad and large, raised the machine just off the ground. “It has two modes of operation. Basically, I’m using the pump engine to turn the wheels, and then when it locks down, the engine goes back to pumping. So it has enough torque to tug three of those barges in the docks _out_ of the water.”

Jak laughed. “Fair enough. Just watch yourself up there.”

“Will do.”

Daxter looked at his friend nervously as Jak walked up to the defense wall itself, giving a testing pound with his fist. “We’ve done a lot of crazy things together, old pal of mine, but this… is one of the craziest ones. We’re marching into a Metal-Head nest for the _third time_! Not to mention that we don’t have a specific target to get to, but we’re just going to fend ‘em off for _two hours_!”

Jak eyed the furry rodent sidelong. “It probably won’t be two hours. Keira’s pump is… Keira’s pump, she always delivers, Dax. You remember that. We’ve just got to hold the place as long as we can. ‘Sides… you always enjoy having stories to brag to Tess about. Now you’ll have a whole lot more…”

“Pipe-lines connected, moving into position!” someone shouted out behind them.

Jak turned to look, and saw a massive pipe being pulled forward by most of the hellcats they had. The pump-machine gave a loud series of bangs and scrapes, a massive hole opening in its back with mechanical grippers inside the edge.

The hellcats pulled the pipeline, which was going to be delivering the load from all of the other pipes they’d built into the chemical system back at the dock, as Keira reversed the pump machine into the end. Once it was seated just inside the pump machine, she started working the controls again, and a series of loud clamping sounds filled the air, the machine hissing and settling in. Keira looked down to Jak, and gave a thumbs up.

He returned it, and moved in front of the pump machine, gun-ready, Daxter gritting his teeth on his shoulder as the garrisons and hellcats formed up around the machine and behind him.

“We wait for the signal, and then we put it to these armored monsters!” Jak shouted powerfully.

“Yes, sir!” chorused back. The bomb-bots were moved up to the front. They would push through first and detonate, buying the bulk of the force the time it needed to move into position and cover the slow-moving pump machine.

The nest area itself was simply arranged, but not straight. The dock entrance led to a short straight section, which then curved off to the right. This longer straight section had a fork to the left, which curved back almost completely, and led to the Haven Forest security gate, which the other force would be using. The longer straightaway kept going, twisting a few more times, before terminating with the base of the old hive tower. A central channel ran through all of these paths, filled with highly corrosive chemicals, and narrow paths on either side normally swarmed with Metal-Heads, the strange, dark-skinned beasts fused by their nature with metallic armor, usually recognized by the glowing yellow gems buried in their heads. They varied is size from small, scuttling, scorpion like creatures the size of a dog, to gorilla-like monsters. Larger, massive beasts were known in the wasteland and in the deeper ruins beneath the city, but none of these had been seen in the nest itself… not yet.

In Haven Forest, Frost was just hopping _back_ into his hellcat, rising from the organized force preparing to open both security gates and charge through, their own hellcat forces ready to fly right over the wall. As he flew back to the city himself, he opened the comm.. “This is Commander Frost to all guard forces. I’m heading back to secure the bomb-ship and prep it. In ten minutes, the signal will come from the central fortress. Don’t hesitate. Frost out.” And he flew off.

Jak cocked his weapon with a dark smirk on his face. “Let’s take care of business.”

Daxter finally relaxed into his own battle grin. “Now we’re talking.”

Reports came down from the towers. Still no movement from inside the visible parts of the nest, which was troubling. Nevertheless, a missile shot overhead, trailing purple smoke, and exploding into a puff of it. The defense wall split down the center, folding into either side as the blast-bots started marching forward, Jak, the pump machine, and the guard forces moving in their wake. The Haven Forest gates split open, and the soldiers started pouring through, hellcats flying down out of the sky at both entry-points.

And it was totally still inside. Aside from the bubbling, bright green ‘acid’ in the canal below and the naturally moving parts of the walls, there was no activity. Jak quickly ran back to Keira and the machine, and climbed up the front, hopping on top. “Once you’re in position, start ‘er up, Keira. No point in wasting time.”

“Understood,” she responded seriously, busily working on her controls, pulling a few levers as the machine drifted to a halt near the edge of the canal in front of them.

“Sir, what about the blast bots?” one of the guards called up from below.

Jak nodded out, facing the canal with his gun ready. “Keep ‘em moving in until they reach that junction with the Haven Forest route. If the Metal-Heads start swarming, those will put a nice dent in their formation.”

“Yes, sir!”

Daxter rubbed his hands together with dark glee. “Nice to have those boom-boxes with legs on our side for a change.”

“Yeah…” Jak muttered, aiming down his blaster, looking around warily. The nest had _never_ been this quiet. Ever.

“Beginning chemical injection!” Keira called out, and punched a large red button in the center of the console.

The front of the machine opened up, but rather than just being a mobile end of the huge tube, the creamy white, dull yellow, and clear chemicals burst out of the machine like a geyser, several meters thick. Jak found himself almost being pushed back from the raw force of the release as he stayed on top of the machine, the jet of chemicals almost spraying the far side of the junction before sinking into the acid of the canal.

Looking down, Jak’s brow creased. “No steam or anything?”

Keira giggled, and responded loudly enough to be heard over the roar of the machine and chemicals. “It’s making the acid inert, locking with the molecules rather than just vaporizing each other. Besides… the fumes would eat away your lungs as fast as the acid used to eat up raw materials.”

Daxter swallowed, and it was one of the few times Jak shared his feeling, grimacing as he looked down into the canal. “Well… that’s good then.”

Keira pulled up a small hand-held device, and held a small red-button down. “Frost, this is Keira. Chemicals being injected. If we don’t have to stall, it’ll be ready for the tower to collapse in… twenty-five minutes.”

Frost’s garbled voice came back. “That fast? Amazing work, Keira. I’m ready with the ship, I just want to keep it hidden from the Metal-Heads until the last possible minute.”

“Understood… it’s just really… quiet out here,” Keira muttered anxiously, looking around at the troops and hovering hellcats.

“I’ve heard. I’ve ordered the Haven Forest force to stay near their entrance. The likelihood of an ambush is too great to let anyone go too far in, leaving our backs open. Frost out.”

Keira let the control down and her finger off the button. Monitoring the controls, she nodded to herself. _Purring like a kitten… Let’s hope it stays that way…_

Jak was still panning his view, his eyes tensed. Then he saw it. Over from the tower’s side… a dark haze on the side-paths. “It’s on! Ready your weapons!”

The guard formed up into lines and the hellcats primed their guns, even their turrets active. It was a swarm of the small, scorpion like Metal-Heads, rushing down the right side toward them, and the left toward the Haven Forest group.

“Let ‘em get in range, then let ‘em have it!” Jak shouted, and he heard a wave of guns locking.

Then he smirked, and flipped his gun around. It shortened a bit, but the barrel widened, and sprouted what looked like a Metal-Head head over it. A ball of energy started building with bright blue light on the end before he fired once. The energy ball spiraled through the air, and slammed into the first wave of insect-like beasts, ripping nearly ten of them apart in a chain-lightning blast of energy. The hellcats and guards opened fire in a storm of crimson bolts, and the creatures were sent rolling back, their cranial gems flying free into the air as they died.

Keira couldn’t resist looking up and around, watching the firepower rain into the enemy ranks. It was so loud she could barely hear the pump, but then she looked up at Jak from behind, and saw how calm he was, how smoothly he fired the Peacemaker after each charge, wiping groups of Metal-Heads out with every one.

Jak, however, looked up after his seventh shot, and saw the ape-like, much bigger Metal-Heads just starting to come around the bend. “Blow the bots! On the right side!”

The two blast-bots firing beams into the swarms around them on that side suddenly fell down and exploded with shockwaves and fire, sending Metal-Heads flying in every direction, blowing a huge gap in their swarming formation. Jak lowered his gun for a moment, his brow creased. “This is too easy…”

“What are you talking about?” Daxter exclaimed on his shoulder. “You _want_ ‘em to get smart!”

Jak shook his head. “They are smart, Dax. Smarter than this. Something is very wrong.”

Keira saw him lower his weapon, and she became concerned, but then some movement caught her eye. She glanced up to the left, thinking maybe it was just hellcats shifting position as they opened fire, but no… There were three of the ape beasts hefting a large, purple, glowing object over their heads, almost like a barrel of some kind. “JAK! Up on the left!” Keira shouted.

He twisted, his eyes snapping into focus on the glowing ‘barrel’ of Dark Eco energy. His eyes widened, but he snapped the peace-maker up and fired an uncharged shot. It scatted power across a few hellcats, and struck the Dark Eco. The explosion blasted down through the wall and sent the two closest cruisers flying off into the other. The raw force made the other cruisers rush to stabilize, and the guards on the ground scramble for footing.

“Dark Eco bombs!” Jak shouted. “Frost!” he yanked a comm-link up. “They have Eco-bombs! On the walls!”

“Oh hell… I’ll warn the other force, keep on your toes!” Frost replied instantly.

 _Three_ of the massive explosions sounded from across the nest. Jak growled, and flipped his gun around, dropping it into an overhand grip with both arms as a rotary chamber constructed near the front. “Watch for the bombs!” he roared, and then spun around, another trio of Metal-Heads hefting another bomb on the opposite side. He unleashed with the Vulcan Fury cannon, blue shots almost creating a solid fan of death as he panned the gun from side to side, blowing the creatures away and shooting the bomb back slightly before triggering it, badly damaging the wall again.

He looked ahead once more, but his face sank, his gun lowering for a heart-beat. Daxter focused up as well. “JaaaaaaaAAAAAK!”

Two of the bombs were hurtling through the air toward them… and the pump. Jak snapped his gun up and unloaded, filling the air with a swirling rush of death. The first bomb exploded with a trio of angled ring-waves and a rushing cloud of purple particles and dark lightning, the second flipping back through the air and exploding just above the catapult-like devices, and the Metal-Heads manning them, which had launched the two.

Jak pulled his gun up for a breather. “This makes more sense. Bombs… Probably been so quiet to make them.”

Keira focused down on the pump, and her brow creased. The pressure was spiking. She quickly pulled a few levers, saw nothing change, and so she kicked the metal down near her feet with a grunt. It gave a loud bang, and the pressure started to go down. “Okay… I did come for a good reason,” she muttered to herself.

An explosion just above and behind her made Keira snap down over herself with a yelp, Jak twisting so violently Daxter was almost flung from his shoulder as he aimed the Vulcan Fury up. One of the hellcats had just blown up, and leaper Metal-Heads were diving in. Small, agile, mantis-like creatures, they were weak, but incredibly fast as they shot from point to point with high-pitched whistles.

Two had landed from destroying the hellcat, and were quickly felled by some of the soldiers down on the ground, but Jak looked up and saw a swarm of them leaping from the walls on both sides. “Hop through _this!_ ”

The Vulcan Fury sprouted several prongs on the end of the barrel, which were starting to whir around violently as a storm of blue lasers burst out of the weapon, spiraling and filling the air in barely ten seconds, homing in on enemy units. Keira eased back into her seat as she looked up into a glowing blue cloud of death, leapers falling and squealing all around them as Jak smoothly spun around, keeping the spread of firepower well-spaced.

With the blue ammo-type depleted, and no more leapers falling on them, Jak switched his weapon to a shorter, thicker design, with another rotary barrel on the end. The grenade launcher. He lobbed a few shots into the charging swarm on the right side, blowing dozens away before he held fire, and looked back to Keira. “Holding up?”

She managed a wan smile. “Just keep ‘em off me.”

“And ME!” Daxter wailed.

“No worries, Dax.” Jak flipped his gun into a longer, narrow model, but the barrel was modified from the blaster type. “The main force is holding them off pretty well now… I’ll just keep an eye out.”

“Commander Jak!” a voice squawked through his comm.

He snapped it up. “Talk to me.”

“The Haven Forest group… we’re being swarmed by Leapers and the main force is pushing closer. We need back-up!”

Frustration etched through Jak’s expression. “I’m on it… Hold on!” He let down the comm. unit, and watched the guards around him easily holding off the force attacking them, but it was taking all of them. He growled, and then hopped back to Keira, perched directly in front of her. “I have to back up the other force, they’re getting wiped out.”

Keira did waver, but she firmed her manner and nodded. “I’ll keep this puppy going. Help them!”

Jak gave her a nod of deep gratitude, and she understood he was only leaving her for a dire need, and that he viewed it exactly that way. He shot off the pump on the left side, yanking his jet-board beneath his feet, and shooting down the path, Daxter clinging to his shoulder.

“And what exactly are _we_ gonna do against a whole swarm!?” his small, furry friend demanded.

“What’s the matter, Dax, you don’t trust me?” Jak replied with a badly hidden grin.

“If you hadn’t gotten me out of scrapes like this before, I’d wallop you a good one right on the kisser for this!”

Jak flew around the bend, and saw the storm of guard-fire and Metal-Heads near the other gate ahead of him. He had to duck under the legs of the two blast-bots as he came around the bend, and then hopped, twisting around, and getting a speed boost as he landed, rocketing into a fresh jump. “Hang on, Dax!” He straightened, pulling the jet-board onto his back, and tensed in mid air as he flew into the heart of the battle.

He roared, but his voice distorted, deepened, and rumbled through the air. He struck the ground heavily, purple lightning crackling off his body and along the warped terrain. “Guards!” Dark Jak shouted, his eyes solid black, his skin a dead gray, horns rising through his whitened hair as his black talons glistened from his hands. “Get back!”

“Listen to him!” Daxter shouted piteously.

The remaining hellcats and guards yanked themselves back, firing constantly. Jak curled over himself, gathering dark power in his claws. Around him everything seemed to slow down, his senses heightening with his building power. Leapers, apes, little scuttling creatures, everywhere, pressing in on the gap the guards had made. Smiling with evil satisfaction, Jak roared, and snapped his arms to the left. A bolo-shot of dark energy spheres tethered with purple lightning flew out, shuddering the air. It simply blew away an entire rank of Metal-Heads, and detonated against the wall, sending dozens more flying off, dead.

He twisted the other way, unleashing another shot even faster, ripping their ranks apart. Looking around briefly, he laughed, and shot into the air. “That’s right! _SWARM_!!!”

Metal-Heads surged into the gap he’d left below, but he had his fist raised high, energy crackling violently around it. He came crashing down, and swung his right arm into the fall with stony silence. His fist took one ape Metal-Head down to the ground by its head, and Jak’s senses stretched at impact. A wave of metallic purple energy, distorting the air around it, blew out from the blow of his Dark Eco charged fist. The swarm in that portion of the nest simply went away, bouncing off the walls, crackling with a storm of dark lightning.

The guards looked up from protecting their eyes or averting their gazes to see Jak moaning as he leaned upright, reverting to normal as his voice warped and shifted back as well. He held his head for a moment, and then pulled his Beam Reflexor back out, the modified blaster from just before he left. Looking ahead, he saw another swarm of leapers and scuttling bugs.

“Blow the blast-bots.”

The two robots flew apart in blazing glory, taking a fair amount of the fresh swarm with them, but then Jak looked up, seeing two more bombs flying through the air toward them. “Dax?” he asked with calm focus.

“Yeeees?” the little voice moaned back.

“Hold on.”

Daxter wailed as Jak shot into the air and twirled around, firing so rapidly he unleashed a storm of ricocheting yellow blasts down the nest valley, almost like a wall of gold power. And he simply kept firing until he landed to one hand and both feet, his gun held out to the right. He grinned, Daxter rubbing his hands together as they watched the Metal-Heads fly back and fall under the onslaught.

“That’s what we’re talking about…” the furry member of the pair said with satisfaction.

“Let’s get back.” Jak flipped onto his jet-board again, and took off amid a hail of thanks from the guards at that gate.

Keira kept glancing up warily as she worked. The pump was proving troublesome in handling its own pressure, but she was keeping under control. Looking up once more, she felt her life flash before her eyes. Three bombs were hurtling through the air toward the pump. She simply couldn’t move for a heart-beat, but then crimson blasts rained into the bombs, blowing up in a brilliantly colored show a safe distance from the pump. Keira gasped, and breathed heavily for a moment, getting back to work.

And then she was almost thrown out of her chair by an explosion close on her left side. She instantly focused back in that direction, and saw the remains of a hellcat crashing down into the guards as a towering Metal-Head perched on the wall was joined by two of the same kind. They were hulking, silver and blue, four-legged, heavily armored creatures… armed with blasters. The deadly trio started to rain purple blasts of death on the guards on the left flank of the pump machine and pipe, dropping several guards before return fire kept them quite busy.

Keira controlled her sorrow at seeing so many good people die so abruptly, and focused back on her job. Seeing the pressure spiking again, she turned grimly outraged, and rammed her foot down into the same metal plate. “ _DON’T_ do that again!” The pressure almost seemed to vanish.

A horribly close _bang_ made her yelp, instantly focusing up into the face of one of the three hulking Metal-Heads, its forward left leg scraping closer on the top of the pump as it leaned in at her from above, energy charging in its arms. She just focused into its glistening, white eyes, knowing she could never dodge in time, her senses seeming to pull the moment into an eternity. _…Jak…_

With a rush of almost blinding, pure light, the creature flew off to the right with a screech, bursting into dark eco mist and sending its skull-gem flying. Keira’s mouth fell open, seeing a figure stand up from simply punching the massive beast out of the way. He turned toward her, tendrils of pure light arching beautifully behind him in wing-like formations, his body wreathed in the same luminous power. She gazed into his blazing, peaceful eyes, framed by shadow-darkened skin, lost in the mysterious beauty and comfort she felt from his presence.

“ _Oooohhhhm_ …” Daxter mockingly sounded, standing on the glowing figure’s shoulder with his hands pressed together and his body straight. He relaxed, and winked down at Keira, “I know, crazy stuff, right?”

Jak reverted with a snapping flash, rainbows flitting through life from the release of altered photons. He shook his head to regain his normal cognition, and grinned down at Keira. “Sorry to scare you like that. I’ll be sticking around this time.”

Keira just sagged with relief, smiling and nodding to him. Jak twisted his grenade launcher up, and lobbed it at the last of the three big Metal-Heads, the guards themselves having felled the second. The explosion sent the creature flying off into nothing. As she worked, though, Keira found herself remembering the strangely _peaceful_ feeling that had filled her heart when Jak appeared as he had, both saving her life, and calming her down in a single action. Looking up at him as he gave supporting fire against the main swarm, now coming down both sides against both forces, she realized he really was a mixture of his two selves. The dark beast of destruction, and the angelic bringer of peace. As himself, only armed with a gun and his skill, he was both at once. Fierce, brave, and compassionate.

A protesting buzzer on her machine snapped her attention back to reality, and she busily reset a few controls. They just had to hold a little longer, the canal was near full.

* * *

Frost had his head tilted down, his eyes opened, but focused on nothing. He was seated in a modified hellcat, more heavily armored, colored in black and gray, with two large missiles, pale gray and white, locked under each ‘wing’. He was in some kind of landing bay, with only some sunlight filtering through a semi-open door off to his left, the hum of the cruiser’s hover jets shaking his ears.

Already, dozens of good people had died in _his_ attack plan. He was a realistic tactician, he knew it would happen, and knew the plan was justified. They had known the risks very well themselves. …But he was still responsible. His slender hands gripped the controls more tightly as he remembered his sister, her family… How many families would share his pain because of his plan now?

“Frost!”

It was Keira’s voice, urgent, but sounding relieved as well.

“We’re ready! According to all calculation, the canal is full enough to drop the main tower!”

The hellcat spun around violently, the doors rushing open, and it shot out into the air with a rush. “Roger that, Keira. I’m coming. Don’t panic when a hellcat goes overhead.” He was flying across the dock at full throttle, the modified hellcat capable of rather high speed. _They risked their lives for this, time to do my part…_

“We gotcha. Come back in one piece!”

He glanced down at the comm. speaker. “…I’ll do my best. Frost out.”

* * *

Keira looked up from her own speaker with concern, but focused on Jak. “He’s coming. How’s the battle going?”

“Not too bad, really,” Jak shouted back, lobbing another grenade at the swarm.

“Not too bad, he says,” Daxter repeated dryly. “We’re fighting for our lives, as usual!”

“Like I said… since we’ve gotten out of worse scrapes before.”

“Have we?”

“…We have an army with us, Dax.”

“Oh fine, spoil my complaining with your ‘logic’,” the ottsel actually raised his hands from Jak’s shoulder and gestured quotes with his fingers.

Jak just chuckled, launching another grenade, to the left this time. He almost ducked when a black mass shot over his head like a bolt of Dark Eco. “Whoa! Frost…” he realized quietly, watching the hellcat zoom off and swerve into the right turn that would lead it to the nest tower at the far corner of the area.

“Does he need to fly that fast?” Keira called up anxiously.

Jak looked back to her, a sincerely unsure expression on his own face. “Not sure… but he knows how to handle high-speed maneuvers.”

Indeed, he did. Alone with a swarm of Metal-Heads on either side, Frost dove down to the glistening river of chemicals filling the canal, his thrust rippling the surface as he juked from side to side, avoiding a handful of suicidal Metal-Heads that wanted to take him out. Seeing the final turn ahead, he ascended into the air, and hit a few controls. The two missiles locked out to the sides, armed and ready to fire. A small screen showed the programmed target lock already active. He just needed as straight a shot as possible, and the bend was closing fast.

Swerving around the final bend, his ship angled into the turn, he couldn’t really maneuver otherwise. Looking up, which was objectively to the left, his eyes widened as his heart sank. A Metal-Head of the ape-like variety was flying through the air toward him. Frost jerked his right hand from the controls to the rifle lodged between the two command seats in the hellcat, wrenching it free just as the beast slammed into his port hull.

Frost roared, using one arm to yank the ship back onto the horizontal as his path straightened toward the tower, and aimed the rifle over his left shoulder with his other. The Metal-Head roared at him, and he fired straight into it’s open mouth with a dark lock of gazes with the creature. It flew off with a rapid flip, dispersing, but then the hellcat pitched down on the other side.

Twisting his head around, Frost’s alarm clenched in his eyes as he saw _another_ Metal-Head on the other side. They pair must have landed on his ship at the same time. This one was just crawling on top of the wing from the under side.

“Enough!”

Yanking his left arm down as he snapped the other limb across the control seats, Frost sent the hellcat into a barrel-rolling dive toward the canal as he fired at the Metal-Head. The beast took a glancing hit to its skull-gem, yelping. It started to slip free, but Frost heard a ripping tear of metal before the weight finally came off his ship. He yanked the controls again, putting the rifle down for a heart-beat, and pulled the hellcat out of diving straight into the canal. He was in good range, and he started to reach for the missile controls, but his eyes focused up on an Eco bomb hurtling toward him from the base of the nest tower.

Growling with exertion, Frost jammed the controls down, hard, and opened fire with the nose-gun. The hellcat almost halted, angling upright, and unleashed a spray of crimson blasts, detonating the bomb just a few meters from the ship. He shouted from the sting of the mist and force of the shock-wave, but managed to correct the hellcat out of it, and aim down at the tower. “Try mine…” And he slammed his palm into the firing control.

The left missile shot free with a streaming rush, and slammed into the base of the tower, blowing a huge chunk out of it, angling the tower fractionally on its own. Frost, however, looked down in alarm at the console. The right missile had failed to fire. Under the wing on the right side, the clamp mechanism had been damaged, torn apart partially by the dying Metal-Head he’d shot off during the barrel-roll dive. He had seconds to pull up or crash into the tower, and the missile was stuck. “Oh G’d…” he couldn’t help but breathe in despair, but then his eyes sharpened, and he focused on the tower’s base. He growled, “Fine.”

The hellcat’s thrusters flared to maximum, and the ship hurtled toward the tower’s base itself. But a group of hulking Metal-Heads with blaster-arms scuttled into view from within, and there were several Eco bombs with them. They opened fire, practically erasing the nose of the hellcat and sending into a spinning swerve toward the right side of the nest valley.

Undoing his harness, Frost grabbed his rifle, and let the vehicle throw him into the air. It struck the wall and exploded with the missile, sending Metal-Heads flying and dispersing as their skull-gems ricocheted and bounced off the walls, many falling into the canal. Frost fell into a roll on the end of the right path near the tower, and uprighted firing from a crouch.

Two of the largest Metal-Heads dropped under his fire before the city guard snapped around with the butt of his rifle, ramming an ape Metal-Head across the jaw hard enough to drop it for the count. He simply ran, charging toward the tower on foot, firing wherever it was needed to clear his path. As the beasts opened fire in response, he dove into rolls, quick, strafing hops, and managed to take several down before he finally reached the tower… with nearly five Eco bombs visible just inside. He knew the size of the tower by memory. The base was so wide that the five bombs were easily close enough to the right side of the front to not cause the tower to fall the wrong direction. He didn’t need the missile.

Roaring just behind his head made the Commander dive forward, narrowly missing a decapitating swipe from one of the ape Metal-Heads. Twisting as he rose up, Frost saw that the swarm was surging back to the tower. He had no exit. Nodding to himself, quite calm, he ran deeper into the tower, shooting down a few leapers as they tried to take him out, and he quickly scrambled up a spiky, wall-like protrusion from the left wall of the base chamber of the tower. The first bomb was right in front of it. He slid down, and rammed his feet into the side of the barrel-like Eco concentration, knocking it forward enough to fall completely on its own weight. Then he shoulder rammed it as he dodged another leaper attack, rolling the bomb toward the others near the remains of the tower’s base on its forward left side.

Frost twisted, ramming the leaper away with the butt of his rifle, and aimed as he came back around, firing once. “Don’t be sad for me…” he whispered.

The shot struck the first bomb, and the five of them, all total, exploded in a roaring rush. The ground below Frost pitched him up as the blasts reached him, and he went flying into the air, parts of his armor stripping off as he flipped like a rag-doll inside the tower, the base falling out and revealing a glistening lake of darkness beneath. The concentrated explosion unleashed a storm of purplish lightning as well, arcing across the walls and new, gaping hole in the ground.

Back at the pump-machine, Keira’s eyes widened as she saw the nest-tower start to tilt forward in the distance. “He did it!”

Jak focused up, seeing that the Metal-Heads were starting to rush back toward the tower as well. Probably a last-ditch instinct to protect the heart of their nest. Then his brow creased. “…Where’s Frost?”

Daxter looked from his fiend, to the gradually tilting tower. “…He’ll make it! …Right?”

Frost came hurtling down inside the tower, his rifle still clutched in his right hand as he saw the dark waves in the lake below rushing to meet him. A roar made him look up at the remains of the entrance, parts of the tower raining down around him, and he saw one of the larger Metal-Heads ready to pounce at him… just before a bolt of dark power slammed into it, killing it instantly. The skull-gem shot off like a bullet, and Frost saw it twirl toward his face just before pain exploded through his head.

The gem had struck his own forehead, and the arcs of dark lightning had followed it, suddenly the entire storm of it blasting Frost’s body at once. He screamed, but his voice distorted through the Dark Eco power, and he became a falling ball of crackling energy, even his rifle splintering with the power. He struck the surface of the Dark Eco lake with such a blunt ram that it seemed unnatural for his small body, the energy dispersing through the fluid like sheet-lightning through clouds, filling the troughs of the waves as his rifle and hand vanished beneath the surface.

Outside, the tower finally broke its balance point, and its base flew apart as it came crashing down into the nest itself. The chemicals filling the canal exploded against the walls, sending a heavy wave down the whole nest, washing just over the walls of the inner canal, washing away the Metal-Head carapace, exposing charred dirt from the old gardens.

In the same instant, however, the energy which had struck the Dark Eco lake with Frost continued through it, rushing deeper into the planet, and shooting through a narrow channel hidden deep in the rocks. It skittered down the rock-tube like a swarm of mad insects, and finally burst out into a cavernous, underground chamber. The warped ruins of some great machine were just visible in some parts of the glistening darkness, and the emaciated remains of a body preserved only in shape loomed in the visible part of a head-like mass of the machine. The energy, however, crackled around a small thing down near the other body. A hand, thick, and covered in Dark Eco like mud. It crackled violently, and the energy slowly faded. And then the hand slowly closed under its own power…

The release of the Dark Eco power shook the entire nest area, even so, and Jak stumbled to a crouch on the pump as the shock-wave rushed beneath them. “What the-!?”

Keira looked ahead with concern. “That was too big a delay for the missiles to cause…” Her heart sank into her stomach, and she jammed her hand over one of the controls. “Frost!? Frost, come in!”

Jak ran back to her, leaning over her controls as they both listened to the horribly undisturbed static on the other end of the line. Keira jammed the controls again. “Frost!?” She started thumping her fist off the comm. unit. “Frost!? _Frost!?_ ”

Daxter didn’t know what to do, but Jak finally hopped down with Keira and grabbed her hand before she hurt it seriously. “Easy, Keira… He did his job.”

Keira looked up into his grave expression with tears in her own eyes. “What are you saying…? He has to be alright!”

“He’d answer if he was.”

Daxter just looked down, the situation too serious for even his cynical humor. Jak felt Keira ease slowly, but then she fell against him, sobbing. He exhaled heavily, dropping his gun, and returned the embrace consolingly. “He pulled it off…” he muttered, patting her shoulder.

As Keira continued to cry into his shoulder, he looked across the nest as it continued to melt down into the ruins of the old garden area. It would still need a lot of work, but the bulk of the job was done.

“Jak,” a familiar voice sputtered over the speaker, “Jak, this is Ashelin. The tower’s down, but is everything okay over there?”

Jak held onto Keira, but responded. “Yeah… yeah. We lost some good people… but it’s working…”

Apparently Ashelin heard it in his voice. “…Why didn’t Commander Frost signal us?”

Keira tightened her grip on Jak, and he just breathed for a moment. “He can’t.”

Ashelin’s voice was silent for a while, and came back at length a bit hoarse. “Understood… Sorry to… be cold, but we need to keep going. Can Keira operate the pump still?”

The young woman nodded quietly, slowly calming down. Jak answered, “She’ll be good to go in a minute.”

“Right… We’ll… Keira, we’ll make him proud, don’t worry.” In the command center of the fortress, Ashelin cut the transmission, leaning on her hands over the holo-table as she swallowed. “Why didn’t I order back-up with him?”

Torn was standing just to her left, his expression grave even for him, but he stepped closer and put a hand on her shoulder. “It was his job, and he got it done. Back-up might’ve just gotten in the way.” He paused, and then finished, “…So let’s do ours.”

Ashelin nodded. “Right.” She looked at the holographic display. “Even if it’s just for your, Frost… We’ll build those gardens just the way your sister would’ve wanted them. I promise…” And she shut the hologram down, walking away.

* * *

The pump pushed the pipeline down into the canal, and started to reverse its flow, sucking the chemicals and remains of the nest they’d corroded back into the storage tank beneath the city. Within two hours of the tower’s final collapse, crews, along with Jak and Keira, were investigating the ruins of its base for any remains to bury. They found the smoldering wreckage of the hellcat easily, but a more dire discovery soon distracted the bulk of their attention. Jak stood on the edge, Daxter leaning back on his shoulder. “…Dark Eco.”

Keira looked in seriously herself. “I’ve only heard of a concentration this big in the ruins in the forest, contained by the Precursor ruins themselves. Was this always under the city?”

“It must be part of that lake in the ruins. They’re not that far from here. Maybe linked under the foundations of the city,” Jak pointed out.

“Sir!”

The three of them hurried down to the edge of the all but empty canal, to see a group of guards looking busily down at the base of the raised path they were all standing on. “What is it?” Jak asked seriously as he came up.

“Look, sir. Down there,” one guard gestured with his gun.

Jak did so, and his eyes widened. “The eco!”

A crack through the rocks was dumping a steady stream of Dark Eco into the canal from the lake behind them. It was easily big enough for a Metal-Head to fit through.

“Dax, go with Keira. Soldier, get everyone out of here!” Jak just yanked his friend off his shoulder and tossed him to Keira, both yelping in surprise as she caught him.

The soldiers hurried off to follow his orders, but Keira lingered as Jak transformed into his darker form.

“Wait, Jak…”

He turned around, and she winced a bit, seeing his dark form and how it twisted the brave young man she knew so well. His voice was deep and rumbling. “I’m the only one that can seal the crack and get rid of that Eco. I need some containers. Tell a hellcat team to bring some in to get the stuff that’s already come out.” And then he spun around, leaping down into the canal.

Containing her concern, Keira put Daxter on her shoulder, and ran down the right-hand path. Daxter glanced back, and saw Jak use his dark-blast to seal the hole with rubble immediately. “So, ah… none of that came back with the chemicals and stuff, right?”

“It almost definitely did, but not much compared to the whole volume. No point in worrying too much about it now. Maybe Jak can look into it later,” Keira explained as she hurried.

Another forty-five minutes later, Jak let himself finally revert, breathing heavily. Keira and Daxter came down an another hellcat, and hurried up to meet him.

“You okay? Do you need anything?” Keira immediately asked, her concern obvious and sincere.

Jak smiled wanly, but shook his head. “I’ll be alright. I think we all need to rest, though. And… they never found…”

Keira nodded. “We know.” She swallowed. “His body may have gotten taken back with the chemicals…”

Jak put a hand on her shoulder. “Not your fault, so don’t even start blaming yourself, if that’s the case. But come on… let’s rest…”

* * *

The smell would’ve made anyone gag on reflex, but the storage chamber for the chemicals and liquefied remains of the nest was nearly filled to the brim. Catwalks and platforms were arrayed around its edges for any purpose that could be conceived within the chamber itself, just in case.

A few Metal-Heads were still alive, but they were obviously doing badly as they slowly crawled around. A group of the ape-like ones and leapers were slowly gathering around one part of the catwalk. The Dark Eco had conglomerated in one part, near the surface, and they were hungrily closing in on it.

Terror seized the horrible beasts and they jerked back as a group when a limb burst out of the black, powerful eco, and slammed down onto the grating. The fingers were shivering, but clutched the gaps with desperate power, talons glistening on the finger-tips… and the remains of blue armor, mostly scorched or stained black led back into the obsidian fluid in the midst of the pale chemicals. Even the creature’s skin was black, but a flawless, onyx variety of it.

The chamber was so dark that only the glistening surfaces of the limb were clearly distinguishable, as were the glowing skull-gems on the Metal-Heads, but then the arm pulled its owner further up. A rasping, unnaturally echoing voice gasped the free air, and his torso slumped over the grating. Beyond the damaged armor, plates of glistening, silvery metal appeared to have sprouted off his body in random places. His right arm was still half-submerged, his body all but limp as he wheezed through his ethereal voice.

A slow growl followed, and his arms came up at the elbows, dragging his body free of the Dark Eco, the dark purple-red energy crackling off his body and along the grating. Getting his feet under himself with painful, deliberate motion, he remained hunched over, finally tilting his head up. Only the glowing red irises and unmistakable skull-gem just above and between them were clearly visible from his jagged, spiky silhouette. His body heaved with slow breathing, the sound making it clear that his mouth was hanging open as he focused from one creature to the next.

As the remains of a rifle bubbled up behind him, the Metal-Heads started to close in, some growling, others hissing.

His eyes sharpened. _Whispers… in my head… all of them… you…_ The figure suddenly roared, and energy violently arced from his claws to the ground, his skull-gem glistening brightly.

The Metal-Heads fell back, cowering away from him, some whimpering and pawing at the ground near his feet. The red eyes focused down, and then he raised his hands, slowly absorbing their appearance as energy continued to crackle and snap off of them. “ _I… am…_ ” He lowered his hands, and focused on the closest Metal-Head, on its skull-gem. A claw of his own slowly reached up, and scratched its talons across the glowing yellow stone in his own head.

Slowly, he straightened up. _We’re still in the city, obviously…_ He turned, and looked down at the Dark Eco. He stepped over, picked the warped weapon out of it without harm, aside from a great deal of crackling energy, and then rounded on the Metal-Heads around him. He pointed back at the Dark Eco. “Collect it all,” he rasped firmly. “We’re leaving.”

After only a moment’s silence, every Metal-Head still alive began to move to his will. The silhouette simply took the weapon in hand, and moved toward a large, sealed door along the grated catwalk upon which he was already standing.


	4. The Hand of Darkness

She could see it. She could _feel_ it. The darkness in the stars, drawing so close it almost felt like a weight on her face. Any moment, she knew it was coming, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn away. Perhaps she could learn something, perhaps she was simply terrified enough to be frozen. But this time it changed.

Instead of the dark claw reaching for her eyes, the vision rushed back, away from the darkness… but the presence remained. Then she saw the hot sands cooling under moonlight, stones rushing past as dunes appeared to be waves in an ocean of glistening dust. Then only sand filled her view, rushing all around her, going deeper. Then stone, too solid to see through, shadow growing too thick.

Soon she almost couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t moving anymore, it was just _dark_ all around her. Freezing pain pierced her chest, and she focused into the darkness. Something was rushing up to meet her, glistening, shifting. A hand, unfurling to grab her, choke the life from her.

Seem gasped powerfully, her eyes snapping open as she fell onto her back, panting. The starry night glistened above her, and the cool desert air was starting to make her sweaty face go numb. The monk scrambled onto her feet, and walked to the edge of her landing, looking out over the desert with controlled alarm. “That is what’s drawing them. Two shadows calling to each other through the night.” She looked to the stars thoughtfully, calming down.

And then she realized something, her brow creasing faintly. The stars… weren’t quite right. A familiar constellation was missing, she’d seen it just the previous night. She quickly looked to another part of the sky… and found it normal, all the stars in their proper place. “Darkness…” she rasped gravely, turning her gaze back to the troubling part of the sky. Indeed, the constellation _was_ there… but a star was missing.

Seem bowed her head, offering silent prayers with focusing hand-gestures before she muttered, “The first of many eclipses… We are losing time.” With a swift turn, she vanished inside the temple.

* * *

The throne-chamber of the Spargus City palace was quite befitting of a desert king. Pools of fresh water amid sculpted stones, and an ornate, towering throne that drew all focus to the one seated upon it. Not that the current ruler needed that much help drawing attention. Covered in a dark, tan outfit heavily armored in Metal-Head carapace for a silvery-brown two-tone, Sig sat back in the throne with his Peacemaker propped up on the left side, his right eye replaced by a glistening optic implant, his left focusing calmly down on the Wastelanders reporting to him. He was a tall, bulky man, and had the deep, powerful voice to match. His expression, however, became incredulous. “You mean we haven’t spotted a single Metal-Head in the wasteland for over a month?”

One of three Wastelanders nodded. “Closer to two full ones, my king. It seems that the Haven City attack on their nest solved more than just their own problems. We can almost mark the absence to their attack.”

Sig smashed his fist off the armrest. “But that doesn’t make any sense. The wasteland Metal-Heads didn’t need that hive, they were just out here, prowling! There’s no reason for an attack in Haven City to even effect them.”

“We’re just listing off what we can confirm, my lord,” another replied.

Before anymore could be said, the elevator leading from the base of the palace to the throne-room activated, descending for someone. All three scouts and Sig himself looked to the lift as it returned. Another wasterlander, a thin, tall man, charged up to Sig, quickly bowed, and breathlessly announced, “We’re receiving a strange distress signal, your majesty.”

Sig’s brow creased. “What makes it strange? Talk to me.”

“It’s from marauders, sir,” the man replied, confused himself. “They’re calling for any help available. They sounded… scared.”

The other scouts looked back to Sig with the same troubled confusion as the king himself had on his face. Quickly, Sig grabbed his peacemaker, and stepped down from the throne. “I’ll lead a full force to check it out. Tunk, Jargon, you two get fifteen able-bodied Wastelanders to meet me at the wheels.”

They were just agreeing when the elevator activated again. Sig stopped, a bit annoyed and unsure what to expect until the elevator came into view again. Jak was standing with Keira, and Daxter and Tess were down in front of them, all smiling.

“Hey, Sig!” Jak opened with a big wave and smile, all four stepping off.

Sig couldn’t help but grin back. “Jak, my boy! Good to see you chili-peppers still alive!” He clapped Jak on the back so powerfully the young man coughed, but stood back with a light smile.

“Same, Sig. I wanted to check in on Spargus since we haven’t been out here in a while, and Keira, Dax, and Tess wanted to come along.”

Sig grinned. “Glad to have you anyway, but we could use your help on something, kid.”

Keira stayed back with Tess and Daxter, all three a bit perplexed as Jak raised an eyebrow. “What do you need?”

“Just got a strange signal, and I want to lead a force to check it out. Would love it if you came along.”

Jak snapped his gun up in his hands. “Be happy to, but what’s the deal with the signal?”

Daxter gave Tess a thumbs up, and hopped up onto Jak’s shoulder.

Sig chuckled at the pair, and answered, “Marauders calling for help, sounding scared.”

Jak was intrigued. “…Now that’s interesting.”

Keira piped up. “Wait, you mean the marauders that are constantly hunting anyone down in the desert just for spare parts? They’re calling for help from _you_?” she asked in sincere astonishment, gesturing to Sig. Since Spargus City was about the only population in the desert, they were the general prey upon which the marauders thrived.

“Exactly,” Sig said with a nod to the young woman. “Why I’m going myself. If it’s a set-up, we’re in force, if not, it’s serious and we need plenty of guns ready to go.”

Jak’s eyes widened when Keira stepped closer. “Let me come!” she said enthusiastically. “If it’s a real rescue, I can probably help repair some vehicles. I won’t get in the way, either.”

Sig looked to Jak. “She that good with machines?”

Jak was stuck between shock at Keira and trying to answer Sig. It resulted in him gawking from one to the other for a few stuttered mumbles, and then finally. “Y-Yeah… I don’t know anyone better with machines…” He focused on Keira next. “Keira, you can’t come out there! Marauders will run you over as soon as you fix their vehicles!”

She frowned in disappointment. “I know how to handle myself, Jak, and I could really lend a hand here.”

Sig chuckled, and slapped a hand on Jak’s free shoulder. “Don’t worry, chili-pepper. We could use a good mechanic on the job, and we’ve got Wastelanders on her side. She’ll be coming back in one piece.”

“But…”

Jak couldn’t finish before Sig turned to Keira. “And don’t get too offended, little missy. Jak knows the marauders as well as any of us, and he’s giving you damn good advice. If we weren’t going out in force, I’d be right there with him, not letting you go. Wastelanders watch out for each other, and that’s exactly what he’s doing for you. Now let’s get going! Time’s a-wastin’!”

He marched right through the four of them, Tess hopping up into Keira’s arms for a moment before perching on her shoulder. Keira and Jak shared an awkward glance, both corrected on their stance, and then quickly followed Sig and his men onto the lift.

“Sorry,” they both mumbled to each other, and then blushed with light smiles. Tess giggled into her hand, and Daxter made a gagging motion with his finger off Jak’s shoulder.

* * *

The hulking Gila Stomper dune-car rolled over in the lead of a small force of varying sand-speeders. Sig was driving, Jak sitting beside him, with Daxter letting the wind ruffle his ears in the rigging behind the pair of them, the Vulcan-cannon on the back of the vehicle raised above his height anyway. Another Stomper behind them was driven by Keira, with Tess in the back actually manning the cannon with her little furry hands and a disturbingly happy smile. Smaller, faster cars hurried along around them, letting Sig remain in the lead.

As they started up one of the greater ridges in the desert, Jak pointed ahead. “Sig, look.”

The ruler of Spargus focused up, and became quite serious. “If it’s a trap… looks like it already sprung.” Dark smoke was reaching into the air from several different plumes. Sig raised his fist and started to slow down. The whole force did so, and they crested the high sand-ridge, rolling a little further to let the whole group get a clear view as they bunched together slightly.

Even Sig was surprised by the carnage. There was wreckage of marauder speeders everywhere, including several of the large catapult tanks, and the sand was actually scorched in a few places from bomb-cars they used in desperate attacks on Spargus City itself. They were at the North side of the ruined town to the Southeast of the city.

“Holy moly… is anyone left?” Daxter muttered, obviously not very concerned for the marauders that had hunted Jak and he down more than once.

Sig slowly shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought it was just a single group of Marauders, but this looks like most of their force right here. What’s left of it, anyway.” He stood up, picking up his peacemaker and waving to the other cars. “Come on, let’s check this out, people!”

Keira and Tess, who seemed loathe to leave her cannon, joined the Wastelanders in leaving their vehicles and moving into the destruction. There were a few dead marauders around as well, but after the battle in the Metal-Head nest, Keira could handle quite a bit. Sig’s people spread out over the next few minutes, Jak with Daxter, Keira, Tess, and Sig slowly gathering in the middle of the battle field.

“Seems almost like friendly fire to me,” Tess muttered seriously, looking around as the wind pulled on her blonde hair, remaining from her original form rather than losing it all to orange fur.

Sig nodded. “It does seem that way, arranged in a rough circle, empty middle, but…” He gestured across the ridge-line, intending the outer edge of the wreckage. “It looks more like they were facing out… in all directions.” He set his peacemaker down in the sand by the end, holding it like a staff. “This _was_ an ambush, but it was on the marauders.”

Jak nodded. “But that leaves the question of exactly who, or what, did _this_.”

“Not like it’s our problem, right, Jak? I mean who cares if those nasty marauders got jinxed in the desert?” Daxter predictably dismissed the danger.

“It is if whatever it is decides it doesn’t like us either,” Jak reminded his friend dryly.

“Sir!”

Sig turned along with all of them to see one of his people dashing up to them.

“A survivor, sir! He’s pretty messed up though, he just…” The man gestured off for a moment, and then nodded back. “You better come see for yourself.”

Sig shared a glance with his friends, and they all hurried into the ruined village. A handful of the search crew were gathered around a single marauder. His helmet was off, leaving him the bare-chested, limb-covering attire of the warriors the marauders usually used. He was badly battered, and looked like he’d been near one of the exploding vehicles when it went. What was disturbing, however, was the blank, horrified stare he was giving the sky, and the quiet, constant mumbling coming from his lips as they finally reached him.

Keira covered her mouth in sympathy, Tess just cringing a bit. Sig leaned down with Jak, and put his hand on the marauder’s shoulder. He didn’t seem to notice. “What’s that he’s saying?” Sig asked in a low voice, side-long.

One of the scouts leaned in. “He just keeps mumbling about a dark warrior, and saying ‘they were everywhere’.”

Sig and Jak immediately looked at each other, and Keira, Daxter, and Tess were focused on Jak. He shook his head immediately. “I haven’t been in the desert for weeks, Sig. And I don’t black out with my dark powers… Honestly, I kinda enjoy using them… Besides…” He looked back to the battlefield. “I’d just use my own peacemaker on that many cars, or bring my own. My dark powers aren’t very effective against targets that fast and big.”

“There’s more to it, though, sir.”

Sig and Jak looked up to another wasterlander just walking up. They stood, and Keira and Tess came closer as well. The man pointed past them, to the battle. “I’ve taken a good look around, my lord, and I’ve noticed some tracks in the sand. Deep ones.”

Sig raised an eyebrow. “You mean wasteland Metal-Heads?”

“Exactly,” the man confirmed with a grave nod. “But it’s strange, sir. They were positioned like snipers. They had the entire area scoped out, and none of them moved during the battle. Their tracks leading up and leaving vanish with the wind-stirred sands beyond the walls around the ruins. I’ve been in the desert for ten years now, my lord. I’ve never seen Metal-Heads fight like this.”

Keira and Jak shared a disturbed look, and then he turned to Sig. “After we cleaned out the nest in Haven City, I went down with a team to check the storage chamber we used to dump all the chemicals, since we knew we’d taken in some Dark Eco.”

Sig looked at him curiously. “What’s the connection?”

“All the Metal-Heads and Dark Eco…” Jak cut himself off with a shake of his head. “We didn’t find anything but chemicals inside. _Nothing_.”

“You mean any surviving Metal-Heads escaped?”

“And we never caught a trace of them.”

“Which is nearly impossible with the city sensors rigged the way they are,” Keira added seriously. “I mean… they would’ve had to have access codes or known exactly the right routes to take to avoid being detected _at all_.”

Sig frowned, and rubbed his chin. “So it seems the critters are getting more tactical… But why not ambush any of our forces?”

Jak shook his head. “Until this, I figured we’d just gotten lucky and actually missed any Dark Eco.”

The big Wasterlander nodded. “Now than you mention it, I was just getting reports before you lot arrived today that the Metal-Heads out here in the desert have gone totally silent since just about the time the Haven City nest went down. That is, until this,” he waved up at the battle.

Daxter moaned. “Oh great! So does this mean those metal-monkeys have a new boss that’s even _smarter_ than Metal Kor!?”

“Or just more tactical,” Jak answered, stroking his goatee. “I mean, Metal-Heads don’t _need_ to be tactical, they just overwhelm defenses and slaughter everything in their path. And look,” he pointed back to the battlefield himself, “None of the bodies have been touched either. They weren’t doing this for food. It’s almost like…”

“They were just taking out marauders,” Sig finished firmly.

Jak nodded, stepping away from the others, tightening his eyes at the wreckage. “This was an ambush, alright. A committed, military strike against an enemy.” He set his hands on his hips. “Metal-Heads don’t fight like this…”

Sig shook his head. “Either way, we’re done here. And, at least for now, whoever did this is on my good side. This will keep the marauders pretty humble for a good while. Let’s pack it up, including this poor chump. I don’t like leaving the dune buggies alone out here.”

As the king of Spargus led the way back to the vehicles, a few Wastelanders picking up the mumbling, traumatized marauder, Keira and Tess joined Jak and Daxter. “What do you think is going on, Jak?” Keira asked quietly.

Her dear friend just shook his head. “I really don’t know yet, Keira. I just don’t like the idea of Metal-Heads operating this skillfully. They were tough enough already.”

She looked down anxiously. “Yeah… they were.”

Jak reached over and patted her shoulder. “Let’s just head back. It’ll be alright.”

She smiled, and Tess hopped down with Daxter. The two couples were adorably mirrored as they each walked with the lady putting her head on her love’s shoulder for a moment of relaxation. Soon, of course, they split up into their vehicles, and speeded back to the city.

* * *

That evening, in the palace, Jak was just walking down one of the torch-lit halls when he spotted a familiar face coming the other direction. He grinned, and hurried forward. “Seem. It’s been a long time.”

The monk seemed a bit surprised to see him, but then tipped her head with a prayerful hand-gesture. “Jak. Indeed, it has. I was just sent by Sig to look after the survivor of that curious Marauder ambush.”

Jak raised his eyebrows. “I see.” He smiled a bit. “If anyone could get that poor guy to calm down a bit, you will.”

Seem paused, and it took Jak a moment to realize she was caught unawares by the compliment. “…You may overestimate my social skill, but thank you,” she finished with another nod and gesture.

Jak did his best to mimic at least the nod. “Maybe, but you’re welcome. Would it bother you if I joined you, though? If he does clear up, I’d like to hear what he says first hand.”

Seem raised an eyebrow. “I have not seen you troubled this way before, hero.”

“There was something very wrong with that attack. It makes me anxious.”

The monk’s eyes tightened. _Coming darkness… is my premonition only a metaphor, or do they truly come through the stars? The eclipse… But something here draws it…_

“Seem?”

She shook her head free, and focused on her companion. “My apologies, I was… elsewhere. No, it will not disturb me, but do not expect a great deal of success.” She moved past Jak, and he turned, following her. Two doors on the right later, she pushed one open, and he slipped in behind her.

It was a spacious bed-chamber, a couple of nurses (female Wastelanders in white cloaks for cleanliness rather than their normal travel-garb) waiting on the far side, near the window, a bed at the back, in the center, and the muttering survivor laying in it, his armor finally off, and some wounds patched up.

First, Seem walked to the nurses, and they shared a quiet conversation. Jak stepped up to the foot of the bed, and his eyes tightened at the mumbling man in it. Seem came up beside him, but she could see he was lost in thought, and so she reached out, just touching his upper-arm with her cool, pale hand. Jak twisted apologetically toward her, but she was also frozen, her eyes widened up at him.

“…Seem?”

She inhaled, blinking, and quickly looked down. “I… just had a waking dream.” Something, not Jak himself, but connected to him, had yanked her premonition back to her mind’s eye, especially the rising hand of shadow in the desert.

Jak tilted a bit, and reached for her shoulders. “Are you okay? You look a little faint…”

She touched her right temple, and nodded. “I am fine, hero, but thank you for your concern.” She glanced into his eyes. “It does you credit.” The thought of asking him what he might know about the darkness in the desert struck her, but she dismissed it. She lacked enough understanding to properly handle his response yet. Instead, she walked along the side of the bed, and sat down beside the survivor.

Since she had not heard it herself, she leaned closer, and listened to his quiet raving.

“E-everywhere… all around us… can’t… hit them… can’t see them, but they’re… they’re hitting us somehow… _where are they_? There! T-that… d-dark… warrior… on the rock-face… just… looking down at us…”

Seem’s eyes flared despite herself, and she gripped the man’s shoulder. “The dark warrior!” she said in a low but emphatic voice. “Tell me of him! Who was this dark one?”

The survivor suddenly stared into her eyes, as if the two were kindred spirits for a heart-beat. Jak and the nurses were watching with concern (watching both of the people on the bed).

At first silence filled the air, but then he swallowed, and spoke slowly. “I don’t know anything, monk… but he was there, just watching. But… but near the end of the assault… he only raised his hand, or… something in his hand, perhaps, and it all stopped. I didn’t realize I was the only one left yet. Then they all faded away, like sand in the wind!”

Still absorbing the information, Seem reached up and touched the man’s forehead with her right hand, muttering quiet prayers. They seemed to almost hypnotize the man, and he sank back into a deep sleep. The monk rose from the bed, and was firmly staring into nothing, her mind working furiously. _A dark hand… but… already out in the open? Why assault the marauders? Perhaps they were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. This dark one, is he the one, or…?_

“…Seem?”

She jerked her eyes up into Jak’s yet again. “…What is it, hero?”

“I was just going to ask you…” He’d become quite serious.

Seem looked down and away. “I am not sure yet, hero. I have had troubling premonitions for some months now. I see darkness coming from the stars, but something here draws it on. I fear this ‘dark warrior’ may be that very thing… Or it is something worse, yet to expose itself.”

Normally, Jak would’ve been a bit dismissive of her mumbo-jumbo, but since the Dark Makers were defeated, he’d gained a new respect for her uncanny insight into the ways of the world. And in the current situation, he was downright worried by her warning. “Something _worse_ than a new leader for the Metal-Heads?”

She looked back into his eyes. “Much worse.”

Jak’s expression slackened slowly. Seem focused on him with more direct interest. “…You have not shared my concerns this closely before, hero…”

“That was before I realized you were usually right. Maybe not about our inevitable doom, but about what’s coming,” he managed with some mild humor.

The monk actually allowed herself a faint smile as well. “I see.”

“Don’t you think we should tell Sig about this, though?” Jak continued seriously.

With a slow nod, Seem agreed. “A wise idea, hero. Let us go.”

They both thanked the nurses, and quickly left.

* * *

Sig frowned gravely as he sat on the throne. Keira, Daxter, and Tess were standing back, a little behind Jak and Seem as they finished explaining what they knew. Jak’s friends were all very worried, but Sig finally sighed and leaned back in the chair. “Look, I trust your insight, Seem, but what do you want me to do? You said yourself we don’t have anything to actually move on yet.”

Seem bowed her head. “Yes, my lord, but I intend to look more deeply into these matters. If I discover anything… concrete,” she almost had trouble with the word, “I shall immediately inform you.”

“Please do. And thank you. As always, if you monks need any assistance, just let me know,” Sig responded sincerely, tipping his head to her.

Seem gave the bow and prayerful gesture she had given Jak. “Most appreciated, King Sig.”

“Same here. I’m always happy to help out if I can,” Jak added quickly, smiling a bit.

Seem actually returned the smile somewhat, and nodded. “I trust that you are, hero. Now I must return to the temple.”

After she bowed, and they gave their farewells, they watched her leave. Keira quickly turned to Jak. “This sounds really bad, Jak. We should get back to Haven City and tell Onin and Daddy about this.”

“I was just thinking the same thing,” he agreed easily. “Sorry, Sig, but…”

“I’m with you on this one, chili-pepper. I don’t want any of us to get caught with our pants down in a marauder hut.”

Jak and he shared a grin, and then Daxter, Tess, Keira, and the young hero quickly left for the shuttle back to the other city. Sig just sank back in his chair. “I’m beginning to think it just doesn’t stop on this planet…”

* * *

In a small, humble, torch-lit chamber in the Precursor temple, Seem lay on her back on a simple mat laid over a stone-ledge in one wall of the modest room. She was asleep, apparently, but lay very still, straight, with her hands clasped over her front. More curious, she was actually in her full clothing and armor. Perhaps it was a type of endurance or meditation technique, but she seemed very peaceful despite the knobbly, complicated suit. At least, she was peaceful for a time.

Her brow creased faintly as her dreams turned dark once more. The night, the stars, space, with the great darkness looming, overshadowing all light, looming ever-closer. Again, before the great, black claw could reach out for her, she rushed back to the planet, into the desert… but this time she halted at the sands.

In reality, her face relaxed a bit, and in her mind’s eye, her view rose up, across the sands. There was scattered stone amid subtle dunes, and some cacti off toward the horizon. Turning slowly, she saw a cliff-face all but surrounding her. Looking down again, she was in the center of a modest pit within the dunes, very simple, subtle… and she could feel the darkness constricting its icy claws around her heart. As she looked down in growing dread, she abruptly had her body, and looking down at her feet, she saw the sand explode around a black hand viciously swiping up toward her face, rising with unnatural speed for her eyes—

Seem shot awake, snapping upright and gasping. Her arms coiled around her body as she stared down into nothing, her body shaking from the cold in her mind, her body sweating from a hot room. “It’s coming… so close, but…” As her breath calmed, her expression did so as well, and then she became thoughtful, finally relaxing her arms away from front. “…I know that place.”

She quickly slipped off her ‘bed’, and flowed to a small desk on the opposite wall. She yanked a scroll down, and unwrapped it across the surface under the torch. Her finger traced along its surface, a map of the deserts around Spargus City. “Rocks… around calmer sands… some of the cacti…” Her finger traced across the cliffs South of the city, and then followed her slowly sinking, focusing eyes down into the sands directly South of the rocks, in a moderately isolated corner of the cliffs, out of the way of any major travel-routes across the desert, but surprisingly close to Spargus. “It is there. Whatever draws them close is _there_.”

With a rare display of speed, she was out of her chambers and down the hall in a rippling rush of her rubber, skirt-like under-robes. In a few moments, she was moving down into a stable-like area for leaper-lizards. Ostrich-like, reptilian mounts with modest wings and powerful hind-legs, they had long been domesticated in the wastelands, and Seem was moving briskly for a specific one near the open, arched exit of the stable.

Another, younger female monk was scurrying after her. “But it is very far to go by leaper, my lady, and marauders are still a danger despite that strange battle near the ruined city. Please reconsider, at least contact the king for a dune-runner.”

Seem shook her head. “We may already be too late. I must learn what I can. It will be close enough to Spargus for me to report my findings directly to the king.” She swung herself up onto her Leaper, and whispered to it in a strange language, both melodic and rasped. “Watch after the temple,” she continued to the younger monk as she brought her mount around, the creature already squawking eagerly for the adventure. “If I have not contacted King Sig by noon tomorrow… something has gone wrong. Tell him to investigate the sands directly South of the city, beyond the first cliffs. The darkness, I believe, is there.”

And without waiting for an answer, she shot through the opening on her leaper, extending its powerful jump with flaps of its tiny wing-arms. The young monk fretfully looked through the opening before quickly running back up into the temple proper. Seem rode her Leaper down the mountain-face from ledge to ledge, well acquainted with managing the harsh landings with a saddle. In just a few minutes, she was bounding across the natural islands that allowed dune-hopper vehicles to reach the island-mountain that held the temple. Though close to Spargus, the part of the desert she needed was quite far to the North-Northwest of the temple, but it was almost night anyway. Letting her Leaper run as fast as it felt it could manage, Seem focused ahead. They had not defeated the Dark Makers only to lose the world to another threat from the heavens.

It took her nearly half an hour by leaper to reach the cliffs that rested South of the city, and as her Leaper trotted to a stop at the top of a particular dune, she looked down gravely on the exact site she had been shown in her dream. The rock-face, the wide, shallow pit between short dunes, even the clusters of shale scattered through the sand… and cacti growing behind her.

Trotting a little further down, Seem dismounted within a few meters of the center of the pit, and walked through the cooling sands beneath a twilight sky until she stood in the center, almost exactly as she had in the dream. As she looked down into the ground, slowly kneeling, she put her hand to the sands, and closed her eyes. With a rush, she saw the same darkness from her premonition. Far below, in the rocks under the sands. That hand was…

Seem moaned, her left hand pressing to her chest as she almost fell over, shivering. She could _feel_ it. The horrible darkness was _there_ , directly beneath her, simply very deep. Without doubt, she was in the right place, but her pounding heart wished she had been wrong. It was far worse than she had feared. The darkness was almost overpowering her already. She gasped, and stumbled back toward her Leaper, finally falling flat as she caught her breath. “…It’s here… By our makers, it is here…” She almost had tears in her eyes it was so horrible. Despair threatened to overpower her mind, but then she felt a soft nudge on her cheek.

Her red eyes opened up into the face of her Leaper, which was moaning sympathetically and nudging her. Seem smiled faintly, and reached up with her right hand, scratching its chin. “You have long been my friend…” She continued in a soft whisper of the strange tongue she’d spoken before.

Shaking her head, Seem rose up with her Leaper, but then stopped as her ride gave a nervous click. Motors in the distance. It was time to go. Seem quickly slipped up onto her Leaper, brought him around, and was just commanding him to leap up the dune when an armored, thick-wheeled car burst over it in front of her. Seem almost fell off her Leaper from the shock, and her mount spun around, almost falling over himself. The car hit the sand, and skidded around, four others rapidly swerving into view and surrounding the lonely pair.

Seem looked around seriously and alert. Marauders usually only went after other vehicles, for fuel or supplies. If they were so focused on her… it was possibly vengeance for the assault that had cost them so dearly just over a day ago.

The vehicle in front of her opened up, and a marauder climbed out. He took his helmet off, revealing a mane of spiky, white hair, and a grizzled face. A massive, cleaver-type sword was gripped in his left hand, and armor bristled off his right arm and lower body. His muscular torso was all but bare as his boots struck the sand. “Well, well,” he rumbled, “look what we have here. One of Spargus’ young monks, I see.”

“Please let me pass. I have only what you see,” Seem attempted to reason, her expression solemn, hiding any fear.

She did not like the nature of the smirk that followed on the scarred face looking back at her. “And I like what I see. The armor, the garb… what’s underneath it…”

Seem swallowed, but remained firm. “I will give you my armor, but please let me pass.” Her feet slowly pushed into her ride’s flanks. It was a signal she’d trained him for, to prepare for a powerful leap as quietly as possible. If she could leap past the leader, it was possible they could make it to cliffs before being gunned down.

The leader twirled his sword down into the sand like an old gentleman with a cane. “Aw, but that’s no fun at all. I never understood you monks, why a young, sweet thing like yourself wouldn’t enjoy the company of a few lonely marauders!” He burst out laughing, and she could hear it chorused in the vehicles around her. “So,” he raised the sword, cutting off his own laugh, “I think we’ll just take it all, and call it even.”

He nodded sharply toward them, and before Seem could give her ride the signal, a shot filled her ears and her Leaper screeched. She wasn’t sure what happened until she hit the sand, and looked down to see her Leaper bleeding from its right leg on the sands, squirming awkwardly. Seem’s face finally fell. “No…” She scrambled up, and crawled to her dear creature’s face, whispering quickly but soothingly. It stopped squirming, but was obviously frightened.

She looked up as the cars revved, closing their circle. The leader came right up to her. Seem abruptly raised her hands up to him. “Please, wait! Here, my armor,” she started to pull off her gauntlets. “I beg you to let me leave.”

He just leaned in at her, and she resisted the urge to cringe at his rank breath. “No, sweetie… we’re just gonna take it all. That Leaper will make a good meal for a couple of nights, too.”

“Please…” Seem rasped, fear starting to choke her, not seeing any options.

He smirked, and then she yelped as pain exploded across her head from the left. She hit the sand and everything went dark.

The leader chuckled, lowering the butt of his sword. “I’ll carry ‘em…?” he sensed something behind him, and turned around… To get a massive, dark claw clamped around his face. The last thing he heard was a vicious roar before he was flying through the air. When he struck the cliffs, he knew no more.

The ape Metal-Head sprang off the leader’s car, and smashed down into the front of the closest one on the left as the sands exploded around the other three, the small, scuttling Metal-Heads and a few leapers completely engulfing the vehicles before they flew off and exploded against the cliffs.

When the ape Metal-Head turned over the second vehicle, and let it smoke there, the driver dead, it moved away from Seem and her slowly squirming Leaper. Even the smaller ones and the leaper Metal-Heads pulled back, not coming near the monk. Instead, they parted around another figure that was walking up through the sands from further South. A dark cloak hid his body, but the rising winds were kicking sand and its thick layers toward Seem. Only a pair of glowing red irises and a glistening skull-gem were visible within the almost perfect darkness of the shifting hood hiding his head.

Seem’s Leaper started to squirm more powerfully, screeching as he came closer. The figure stopped, and raised its hands. Dark, taloned claws they were, and crackling with dark energy. Slowly, as they closed into fists, the energy dissipated, and the Leaper seemed to relax a bit. A rasping voice, distorted somehow, spoke in a calm manner. “I mean her no harm, creature, but you also need some help. For her sake at least.” He gestured to the Leaper for the ape-type Metal-Head, and it slowly crawled over, picking the poor lizard up.

The figure tore some of his sleeve off, and quickly tied it around the wounded leg, and gestured South firmly. The Metal-Heads started to flow in the direction he commanded, and the dark figure knelt down, picking Seem up from the sand. Blood was trickling down her left temple, and part of her ‘hood’ was torn, revealing her short, rather messy, white hair with a few tufts free of the concealing garb. He rose to his feet, and lolled her head onto his left shoulder by its uninjured side, cradling her almost like a young child as he kept his talons safely flat around her knees and outer shoulder.

Seem stirred faintly, but her mind did not quite clear as her eyes drifted open, and she gazed up into the darkness of the hood. “…D…dark… warrior…” He gave no sign that he heard her soft mumble before she drifted back into darkness herself.


	5. Darkness Rising

In the depths of ever-so-cold space, the darkness haunting Seem’s dreams was very real. A void of light, but not a black-hole. Indeed, this shadow left everything beyond its confines untouched, and Seem’s home world was only a distant, glistening dot in the space beyond. But in an abrupt rush, part of the darkness, a tiny speck of it, burst out of the whole, and shot toward the lush, Eco-rich planet with impossible speed, apparently not bound by light’s speed as the rest of reality.

Closer, closer, closer. Through the atmosphere, flashes of clouds, toward the oncoming golden expanse, cast into silver tones by moonlight. A dark smudge of cliffs grew larger and larger.

In the desert below, the shallow pit between the dunes, which had drawn Seem from the temple, suddenly exploded in a geyser of sand and rock, rising hundreds of meters straight up, but releasing no shock-wave through the sand around it. Indeed, the very geyser itself burst apart in a swift gust of wind off the dune-covered landscape.

Through the clearing air, a narrow, but deep hole was revealed. It descended into perfect darkness, where light simply could not survive without a greater space with which to descend. And in that perfect darkness, the cavern filled with Dark Eco glistened and sparked with its malevolent power. The speck of darkness that had flown so quickly from its origin shivered through the narrow air-pocket along the roof of the chamber, a true wraith without shape, yet unmistakably crawling along the cracked, jagged rocks hanging over the slowly waving darkness. It closed upon the remains of the large machine, the damaged head of a modified Precursor robot, centuries old.

The hand that had moved beside the obviously dead, emaciated body was now a full limb, risen to the elbow from being almost entirely engulfed. It slowly shifted, as if pulling on the air with the fingers to drag itself higher.

The wraith hovered above it, and then coiled into the narrow remains of the robot’s head. A powerful, black claw came out of the wraith, thick and formed of sinew like tree-roots around the bases of four massive, gripping fingers, hardening into sharp talons at their tips. This powerful hand locked around the exposed, onyx limb, and mercilessly dragged its possessing body through the Dark Eco, back toward the tunnel the wraith itself had blasted open.

The wraith flew up the tunnel, its charge rushing free of the Dark Eco with a thick burst of viscous darkness, hanging as if dead from the meeting limbs. Up on the sands, the wraith burst up into the air alone, slamming down facing the hole as its darkness flowed into its physical body. A second powerful claw slowly clenched on the right side, the first falling back on the left. They each led back into black, muscular limbs of humanoid arm-type, but the actual structure was a grotesque, chambered, stretched black carapace of some kind, both flexible and tough visibly.

Triple-jointed legs raised it off the sand, with three, taloned, powerful toes leading back into a simple base, which almost immediately led up into the first ‘knee’. A sturdy length ran back to the second joint, which was inverted, and this ran forward and up into the last one, a thick thigh joining the torso. All the segments of each leg were moderately angled, relaxed so that the creature was only a fraction of its possible height.

A humanoid torso filled sturdily in between the four main limbs, a long, whip-like tail coiling slowly over the sand behind it, as long as its body was tall, if fully stretched upright. And the head was truly ominous. No mouth was visible where it was supposed to be, but an interlocked mass of hardened ‘skin’, like the ends of the claws and toes, indicated it might be hidden beneath. Above this wide, tall jaw structure was a stunted nose, giving the creature a mild snout rather than a fully human ‘face’. Large, red eyes glowed with their own power on either side, solid in hue, and naturally narrow for a fierce visage. The head ran back over the neck, and far into the air behind the beast, like a shield of sharpened carapace, glistening black like the bulk of its body, for the neck and spine area if the creature went to all-fours.

Most distinct in this creature, however, was a black, indeed onyx-like gem embedded in its chest, between the prominent pectoral masses, and above the narrowed, slowly flexing middle as the creature’s breath thickly rasped inside its head. Even crouched as it was, the beast was nearly twice the height of a normal person, head and shoulders over even Sig. It did not move like an animal, however. Indeed, a horrible intelligence gleamed in its eyes as it focused on the tunnel after landing. A deep, low voice that thundered the sand more than disturbing the air came from its bony face. “You have been summoned. Rise.”

The hand rose out of the tunnel, clawing slowly at the air as if in pain, but too desperate for freedom to give in. It slammed harshly down into the sand as its elbow came high enough, and a lithe, glistening body flowed out onto the stinging particles. A rasping, higher toned voice sounded in the pained wheezing from the dark creature, and it pulled its other arm up, slowly dragging itself completely out of the hole. The long, pointed ears, lithe frame, and general size of the creature was clearly recognizable as a native of the world, a woman, but her skin had turned to onyx, and her hair had fused into a single mass that thickly fell along her back, almost like oil so thick it couldn’t be spread further. Black crystals had formed a kind of bodice around her torso, and, even as she lay on her front, gauntlets sprouted over her forearms as crackling Dark Eco energy fused parts of the sand into glass.

She inhaled painfully, pulling her arms through the sand to push her torso off of it. Thick, oily material, like her ‘hair’, fell around her legs in two flaps, front and back, while boots of black crystal crackled and layered over her bare legs. At last, she managed to rise to all-fours, her body shuddering with each breath, her voice distorted with power. Her eyes opened, visible to the creature towering over her by the crimson glow they blazed across the nighttime sand. She exhaled as her torso rose up slowly, her mouth hanging open as she lolled back, almost collapsing over herself again. Her blazing eyes took in the dark creature standing over her, his swishing tail and slowly clenching claws. Her sharp chin, high cheek-bones, and the haunting remains of her natural voice were clear.

The beast addressed her. “My master offers thee greetings, dark one.” His left claw descended to her, opening to reveal a black gem like the one embedded in his chest. “And he offers you a place in his conquest of this feeble world.”

Shuddering with another breath, as if about to collapse, she suddenly replied with rushing power, dark lightning blasted off her body and scattering across the sand. The beast was utterly unfazed, the energy actually crackling around his legs. “ _Why should I serve any master!?_ ” her voice boomed for the beast alone.

“If greed does not tempt you, nor additional power,” the beast swayed his right claw up, dark mist pouring into the air and taking on a shape, “consider… vengeance.”

It was Jak’s face, aged since she’d last seen him. The woman’s hatred was visible as her body crackled with dark power, and she rammed her right hand up at effigy, a beam of power blasting it to particles again.

The beast continued, unfazed by her violence. “The one you hate has defended this ripe world successfully against powerful foes, and my master does not take foolish chances. He offers you my services in your efforts to destroy this… _hero_ … Lady Maia.”

Maia lowered her Dark Eco warped head and narrowed her glowing eyes. Slowly, she rose to her feet, but then continued to rise, hovering effortlessly in the air as dark power crackled and distorted the empty space beneath her. “I will kill the boy hero gladly, but what can _you_ offer me, beast?”

Holding the offered gem down for a moment, the beast gestured to the hole with his free claw, sending a bolt of shadow down into it. “Watch.”

Maia glided aside, and set her taloned hands on her hips. An eye-ridge did rise with interest when a chorus of dark, rumbling, hissing moans came from the tunnel, and a cluster of wraiths burst up into the air. They slammed into the ground before her, five smaller versions of the beast on her left, lacking their own gems and the intelligence in their eyes. They fell to all-fours, their tails snapping, and revealed the armored jaw’s true nature. The firm carapace split across the middle like jaws, but instead of teeth or a throat, each creature unleashed a storm of black tentacles with razor-sharp spines visible on the ends as they each roared, their head-armor indeed guarding their spinal ridge as they remained crouched.

The original beast turned to her as the five new ones calmed into submissive, still poses. “The Dark Eco found on the worlds crafted by those you call the Precursors is deeply akin to our own Shadow Stones. In combining the two, even greater powers of darkness are unleashed.” He raised his left hand to her, offering the gem again. “Your form has been crafted with the slow precision of centuries by Dark Eco. You alone can wield our power, and unleash these forces like we can.”

As Maia focused on the infinitely black stone in his central palm, the beast’s eyes narrowed with sinister pleasure.

“The offer is enticing, is it not?”

She slowly smiled. “Indeed, it is. So, I will have command over you and these creatures, vast dark powers, and all to do something I’ve been fantasizing about for … centuries you said?” she checked with idle humor. “Hmm, as your master wishes then.” She snatched the stone out of his claw, twirling it in her fingers. “I’ll soften this world up for him.” Her eyes became wide with dark wonder as her powers already reacted with the stone, calling her focus into it, revealing a universe of secrets she could not yet fathom.

The beast reached over, and slowly pushed the gem, still in her hands, toward her chest. “Let the darkness consume your essence, Lady Maia.”

She let the gem settle on her sternum, rather large against her, and gasped as her eyes flared with more light and her body crackled with power, the gem driving itself into her form and lodging there, as it was on the original beast. “ _Yes_ ,” she drew out with cold, calm pleasure, raising her hands up in the air.

Dark lightning stormed off her body, scattering over the sands and slamming into the rocks around her, the air distorting violently around her body, turning purple toward its edges. “…Gol had no idea what he was searching for… this is beyond his comprehension,” she said with satisfaction as she calmed, and so did the power. She remained floating without visible strain, however, the same distortion and energy remaining beneath her as before. “What shall I call you?” she asked the beast.

He rose up to his full height, towering above her even as she floated. Even with her new-found power, or perhaps because of it, Maia saw a terrible might within his glowing eyes that made her loathe to catch his temper. “I am Jalnoth of the Darken, a war-master.” He smoothly lowered back down, and gestured to the five smaller creatures. “And these are your Prowlers.”

Maia smiled at them. “And we can make more using Dark Eco?”

“Legions.”

“Excellent. Let us remain silent for now, my dear Jalnoth. I wish to learn more about this future before crushing my enemy.” She turned, floating along the sands.

“As you wish.” He gestured to one of the creatures as they started to follow her together, and it smashed the hole, causing sand and rock to fill it back in. Jalnoth and the Prowlers simply followed their new mistress off into the wasteland.

* * *

The dull, throbbing pain in her head became clear first. She squeezed her closed eyes against it, and then became more aware of her surroundings. She was lying on something soft, but something quite hard was just beneath it, and, as far as she could tell, all of her clothing and armor was still on. Without opening her eyes yet, she reached up to touch her throbbing temple, but found a soft bandage there already. Her brow creased, and then her memories cleared. Seem’s eyes quickly fluttered open, and she pulled herself upright.

She was in a small, rocky alcove, almost like her own bed in fact, with a faint light from high above shining down just outside of it. Touching the side of her head gingerly, she discovered that part of her head-dress was torn away, but the bandage was well-applied.

A soft chirp on her left made her look around, just outside her ‘bed’, and her eyes widened at her Leaper, his leg well-bandaged with dark cloth and a splint. A pile of dead kanga-rats was near his feet for food, but he was too happy to see Seem awake to continue eating that moment. The monk slipped off the bed, and petted her friend’s head, which made him chirp quietly and tilt his head into the gesture with great appreciation. Seem took a chance to look around. Beyond the obvious enormity of the greater chamber, it was so dark and rather cool that she couldn’t see anything outside their little circle of light.

“I doubt I would feel so rested in a Marauder hideaway… Where are we…?” She repeated the question in the low, soft language, and her friend chirped negatively.

Even though she felt rested and their wounds were treated, Seem could not shake a dark feeling in her heart. There was something ominous about the cave, even ignoring the obvious need to leave and warn Sig about the darkness beneath the sands. If was still beneath them… The darkness in the silhouette she could vaguely remember had chilled her heart while his gentle manner supported her body. It had been similar… but she knew it was different from the one beneath the sands almost on instinct.

And she could feel it again. Seem quickly twisted around from her Leaper, focusing into the darkness… on two glowing, red irises and the hints of a skull-gem beneath some form of hood or cowl.

“Please,” the darkly warped voice began calmly, as rasped and thick as it was quiet, “do not be alarmed. I had no where else to take you, and your wounds were serious enough to concern me.”

Seem did calm, and she noticed that her ride and companion was completely at ease in the dark figure’s presence. “…You saved us…”

A faint laugh sounded, the glowing eyes glancing down with a hint of sad amusement. “I doubt I can save anyone. I happened to be in a position to give some aid, yes.”

The monk was intrigued by the sorrow and pain she could see in his ethereal eyes, but there were more urgent concerns. “…You are the dark warrior that led the assault on the marauders?”

“I’ve led more than one against those desert thugs in the past months,” the shadow answered.

“So you do, indeed, lead the Metal-Heads?” Seem persisted gravely, tipping her head down.

They locked gazes in silence for a time, and then he answered, “Yes.” The sad amusement returned to the glowing eyes next. “I am not your enemy.”

Seem stopped, guilt building in her eyes. “No… you are not…” She bowed her head to him. “I apologize, I was…”

“Being as cautious as any intelligent person would be,” he gently cut her off with mild humor. “No, I have no desire to lead these animals on a war against society. But since we’re here, I figure we can help clean up the wastelands a bit.” He slowly came closer as he spoke, and finally appeared just inside the light.

His appearance made Seem’s eyes tighten in a combination of sympathy and concern. He was covered in thick, black layers of cloth, but his clawed hands, and blackened armor were visible through various holes. His skin was onyx and smooth, and his face would have been quite handsome. In fact, he managed a faint smile. “You’re quite an interesting woman. Facing off with marauders in the desert with no weapons, and you control your aversion to my appearance with sympathy. I know little about the wasteland’s people, but you certainly make a good first impression.”

She blinked, mildly confused by his random statement. “…I do…?” was all she could think to say.

Immediately, they both focused down on his right claw as dark energy started to crackle around it. He winced faintly, closing and raising the fist as the energy slowly calmed and vanished. “I apologize,” he said as he lowered the limb, “it’s difficult to control for more than a few minutes at a time.”

Seem’s brow creased with serious curiosity. “You discipline the darkness haunting you… You were not always as you are now.”

Tilting his head down to the side, he considered her with dry humor curving his lips. “I hope not all Wastelanders are this shrewd, or I’m going to have difficulties. May I ask you who you are?”

It was so clear there was a man behind the darkness as she looked at him in that moment, not the heart-freezing abyss she’d felt beneath the sands. He was struggling within himself, pained, but resisting it for her sake, simply to talk. She smoothly bowed, her hands flowing through an intricate series of gestures. “I am Seem, a monk pledged to the makers of our world.”

As she looked up, her expression softened at his sincere surprise.

“A holy woman? And are the makers the ones I know as the Precursors?” There was an almost childish curiosity building in his voice.

Seem nodded to his second question. “They forge worlds through the power of Eco.”

The warped man looked down at his claws. “And the Dark Makers corrupt them…” He managed a light smirk, lowering his hands. “I imagine I don’t belong in this world anymore.”

“Not all who are touched by the shadow are lost,” Seem said easily. “I had thought so before, but I have met one whom the Makers themselves touched with light, giving him balance against the darkness corrupting his body and mind.”

“Jak.”

She blinked. “…Yes.”

The man nodded slowly. “A very good man, a hero… I didn’t know they really existed, to be honest, and he’s not what I would’ve expected, but he saved us all… twice.”

“You know him?”

Seem watched the darkened man shift from surprise, to awkward uncertainty, and on into grave silence as he turned around. “I know of him… met him once…”

“You came from the city. Haven City,” Seem said clearly.

He froze with his back to her. The monk’s eyes creased with concern as she saw his claws shake, and clench into fists as energy crackled up and down his arms. His head bowed, and his entire body tensed. She heard him breathe through clenched teeth, and slowly ease, the energy fading.

“I apologize… I wasn’t angry at you… I…”

Seem walked over to him. “You are hiding more pain than the darkness itself inflicts…” Something about him made sympathy and pity swell within her. A powerful desire to help him in some way pushed her hand out, just touching his shoulder.

She felt hardened armor, but also sharp, stronger ridges that flexed too closely to his motion to be simple armor. Seem jerked back with fright, however, as he twisted out from her touch with a startled gasp himself, his arms snapping out as he faced her, energy arcing off his body.

“No! NO!” he shouted at himself, his entire body contorting around his arms as he curled over.

Seem watched in a mixture of fascination and horror as the energy from his body froze just in front of her, and slowly pulled back into him, undulating and distorting the air, smoothing out as it grew closer to him.

His body shivering, the dark warrior finally silenced the raging energies, and stayed there for a moment, breathing.

Her hand raised, reaching, but not getting closer to him. “Please forgive me, I was very foolish…”

“Y-you… were trying to be kind…” he raggedly wheezed out the words, and finally sank to all fours with an exhale of either relief or pain, it was impossible to tell which. “I appreciate it… but I can not remain close to anyone… not like this… I can’t control it all the time.”

Seem lowered her hand with an empathetic sorrow in her eyes. “Yet you did so as much as possible to treat my companion and I.”

“…With… some breaks…” he replied, actually laughing a bit despite his weakened state.

The monk set her expression calmly, and came closer again. He looked up at her. “You should stay back, I don’t want to hurt you…”

She nodded, but then knelt down in front of him, and saw him looking at her with gentle curiosity from his tilted hood. It was different from Jak’s, but there was a gentleness and nobility in this man that fascinated her for all the darkness consuming his form. “…You are not a monster.” She smoothly reached down, and wrapped her hands around the sides of his right claw, lifting it slowly up with the back to her.

His attention was completely consumed on their hands until he looked up with powerful emotion coursing through his eyes into her own, calm, steady pools. Seem raised her right hand a little closer to his face, holding his claw still with her left, and bowed her head. As her right hand gestured with smooth intricacy, she whispered in the melodic, hissing language that usually addressed her Leaper.

Something in her voice soothed him like cool water on a scorching day. His frame almost deflated as his eyes sagged closed. For just a moment, he almost felt like himself again, the darkness fading into the distance.

All too short a time later, her voice halted, and she pulled her hands back. The man gave a steadying breath, and looked up into her eyes again. He closed his hand, and slowly pulled it down. “…Thank you…”

The deep sincerity in his eyes and warped voice evoked a strangely powerful compassion in Seem, but all she could do was bow her head to him gently. “…You contain a deep rage, and this darkness makes it dangerous, for you and those around you.”

“Yes,” he whispered, bowing his head.

“…Why?” she asked quietly, her head tilting with concern. “What could make you so angry?”

The man slowly looked up into her eyes. “Me.”

Her eyes tightened, but she slowly nodded in understanding. “…May I know your name?”

His eyes closed, and he bowed his head. She could see that just revealing his name was difficult for some reason. At last, however, he said, “Frost… My name is Frost.”

Seem bowed her head with a more simple gesture of her hand. “I apologize for thinking of you with suspicion, Frost. Though a dark warrior, you remain noble.”

Frost actually smiled up at her. “And I have rarely seen such compassion.”

For some reason, Seem found the compliment quite powerful, and blushed a bit beneath her face-paint.

Frost slowly stood up, and she rose with him, seeing his hand almost come out to help her up, but a new instinct pulled it back just as fast. “You were obviously out for a reason. What drew you into the desert?”

Seem looked down gravely. “There is a great evil coming to this world from distant stars. Something here draws it to us, and it lies beneath the sands where I was caught by the Marauders. Forgive me, at first I was not sure if you were that darkness or not,” she finished with a sincere look in his eyes.

Strangely, he did not seem offended, but afraid. “Am I?” he asked instantly.

Seem shook her head. “No, you are not. It is something else, something much deeper in the sands, directly below that area. You…” she winced faintly, not sure how to say it.

“Are just unlucky?” he offered with a mild smirk.

Her expression was critical of the statement, but she could not offer a better one.

Frost laughed gently. “You are very polite, Ms. Monk. I didn’t mean to make you awkward.”

Seem shook her head briefly. “It is not important, but I must go back to Spargus City and warn the king. How long have I been gone?”

“Just under a day.”

Seem closed her eyes against the lost time. “Then they may already be searching for me. I am most grateful for your help, but I must go.” She was already moving back to her Leaper.

Staying where he was, Frost called after her. “I would not prevent you, but there is a powerful storm raging across most of the desert right now. Even your friends would not bother searching in this, they would be dead too soon to help.”

The monk stopped, and turned, surprise on her face. “There is a storm…?” She looked up at the light above.

“An eco-powered light-source. I moved the Metal-Heads into the caves South of Spargus. We’re nearly a kilometer from the opening right now.”

Seem’s eyes widened. “…The caves were cleaned out just…”

“A couple of months before I moved in. We didn’t start… I didn’t let them start modifying the caves until we were at a certain minimum depth. There’s enough Dark Eco beneath these caves to keep the remaining Metal-Heads alive without attacking outside sources.”

Accepting the information rather calmly, Seem eased her stance. “Then, yes, I will remain for now. I am grateful for your hospitality.” She performed another gestured prayer toward him.

Frost offered a comforting smile. He wasn’t sure how well it came off with his new face, but didn’t fixate on it. “I’ve taken some food from a few Marauder attacks. Would you like me to show you to the … ‘kitchen’?” He gestured off to the right.

Seem closed her eyes from embarrassment as her stomach rumbled. In the quiet cave, it was clearly audible for several meters. Frost pressed his lips together and gave no other sign he’d noticed. “…I would appreciate some food, if you would be so kind,” Seem managed calmly.

“This way, Ms. Monk,” he replied easily, and walked toward the right, Seem following and then walking alongside him.

Though it was dark, there was enough light coming from the smaller chamber beyond for Seem to make out the tunnel through which they were traveling. It was new, with dust still caught in some cracks in the walls from being dug out. The chamber beyond was a small, almost homey little cave with a dirt floor, a cobbled-together table, and piles of stored food on the right and left, some fresh fruit and vegetables on the table itself.

Stepping just past her escort, Seem looked around, and then turned to him. “Are you the only one who eats?”

Frost paused, but then simply shook his head. “I don’t either anymore. I just believe in being prepared.”

She became concerned again. “…You no longer eat food?”

He just raised one hand, letting energy crackled around it. Seem saw the solemn expression on his face, and felt like she was staring rudely, so she abruptly looked back to the table. “I appreciate the food,” she said quietly, taking a fruit, and quietly praying before starting to nibble on it.

Frost caught himself in amusement at watching her eat. She seemed adorable, almost like a small animal with a nut, but calm and quiet. Resisting the urge to chuckle, he leaned against the front wall, just to the right of the exit. Seeing her pause in eating, he asked, “I’m curious about your beliefs as a monk. Mind telling me a bit?”

Seem turned, lowering the fruit in her hands, and considered the question. “To speak generally, we follow the lessons of the world created by the makers. Eco drives the world in harmony, a fruitful system, balanced, yet ever-renewed and growing. It is a peaceful view of the world, but it has proclivities to certain weaknesses. I find imbalance…”

“Perverted.”

She looked into his eyes with saddened concern. “I would not… say it as such.”

Frost calmly smiled. “I find my current form rather ‘perverted’ myself, Ms. Monk, you wouldn’t offend me with the idea. Now if I was simply mistaken, please correct me.”

She glanced down at the fruit in her hands, and back into his eyes. “I believe you will find your center again. It is not that I deny freedom, but that I believe the world moves toward teaching us greater lessons. This curse has befallen you for a reason, but I do not believe it will be a doom.”

“You mean like Jak? Cursed with darkness and blessed with light?”

Seem tipped her head. “Similar, yes.”

Frost looked down gravely, and Seem found it more troubling than she would have expected. He slowly reached up, and pulled his hood back, revealing his head completely for the first time. The glowing gem in his forehead was wreathed in the beginnings of Metal-Head armor, the metallic carapace they all shared and was the source of their name. Instead of hair, he had a layered, natural helmet of sharp plates rolling back around his head and ears, almost like spiky, silver hair, swept back. “I am not like Jak, Ms. Monk,” he began seriously. “I have become something between a Metal-Head, possibly even a Dark Maker, and a normal person,” he listed, looking down at his claws. “I can’t revert like he can, this is my body now. I fear I can not be balanced as Jak is balanced.”

Seem stepped over to him, drawing a mildly surprise look from the darkened man. “Perhaps the manner must be different, but you must not lose hope. Look,” she raised the fruit in her hands, “a monster would not have given me this. One lost to darkness would not have rescued a monk from the desert and marauders, nor mended my Leaper’s leg. But if you lose hope… you endanger the person you remain to be beneath your altered face.”

She saw the beginnings of a correction, but then he paused, looking down at the half-eaten fruit in her hands. He became considerate, and glanced off to the side. At last, he looked back into her eyes. “You are right… it is wrong of me to lose hope. Thank you, Seem,” he finished gently, tipping his armored head to her.

Lowering the fruit in her other hand, she bowed and gave a holy gesture in response. When they were both upright again, she eased back, awkwardly starting to eat again. Frost, however, glanced off to the exit abruptly, as if listening for something.

“What is it?” Seem asked after swallowing.

He smiled gently as he looked back to her. “The storm is dissipating. I posted a watch when you mentioned needing to get out so I could keep track of it. In a few minutes, it should be safe for you to depart on your mission.”

“I am relieved. Thank you.”

He just shook his head, and seeing that she was finished, gestured out of the ‘kitchen’. “Before you go, I wish to give you something. Please come?”

She was a bit curious, and so followed him. Out in the larger cavern, she gave the remains of her fruit to her Leaper, and followed Frost out into the darkness. He raised his right claw, his hood back up, and more light flowed into the utterly cavernous room. The ceiling was dozen of meters over her head, and the chamber was easily hundreds across, wide open at the other end around a few natural pillars, exposing a large beginning of a tunnel leading outward. The walls were crafted in Metal-Head resins and metals, but more subdued, leaving the cavern black and jagged.

There was a large boulder, flattened like a table, with some equipment and weapons on it. Seem caught sight of a very strange, warped-looking rifle that had a faint aura of distortion around it as it rested on the rock. Frost, however, picked up a smaller device, and turned around, offering it to her.

Taking it, Seem looked at the curious, layered cylinder and sharp point on the top.

“It’s a signal,” Frost explained. “Pull the lever on the side there when you can see the sky, and it will let me know you need help. I’ll come as fast as I can.”

She looked into his eyes with surprise. “Thank you… A type of flare?”

The mildly dry humor in his smile and distorted voice intrigued her. “In a manner of speaking.” He became more serious, gesturing at it. “Please don't be alarmed by any dark sense you feel from it. It is powered by dark energies, but very little, and it will not spread. Unless you use it, I don’t think anything could sense it beyond a few feet.”

Though it did concern her, Seem nodded, taking it nearer her front. “Hopefully it will not be needed, but I am grateful for the offered help.”

Frost smiled. “At least this time, if the darkness you’re afraid of is really coming, the Metal-Heads will be on the right side.”

“Both grim and hopeful.”

“Balanced,” Frost offered with a casual smile and toss of a claw.

Seem found it easy to give a small smile of her own. “Balanced.”

Turning serious again, Frost looked into her eyes, and she became attentive. “Seem,” he used her name sincerely, “I am not… what others may remember me as, and it is best for everyone if this… nest remains as unknown as possible. I will not ask you to lie, but please, if possible, avoid telling anyone about me… at least yet.”

Troubled, she replied, “But I am certain there are those would be relieved to know you are alive…”

“Please…”

Sincerely concerned as she looked at him, Seem slowly nodded. “I will avoid revealing what I can.”

Frost offered a faint smile, and tipped his head in thanks. He tilted his head as if hearing something again, and then said, “The storm is now quite clear. Be safe, Ms. Monk.”

She bowed with another gesture, “And you, Frost.”

Just a few minutes later, Seem was on her leaper, running out into the glowing desert. She commanded him to halt for a moment, and looked back into the cave, her hand holding the signal device Frost had given her. “Strange that this should happen now… Perhaps our time of need has already found part of the solution…” She looked ahead, and she and her Leaper shot off toward Spargus City.

* * *

Samos stamped his staff on the ground in mild irritation. “Honestly, sometimes I wonder just what that boy is thinking. He’s nearly twenty minutes late for his own emergency meeting!” the sage exclaimed firmly in his gravely voice.

He stood near Onin, the ancient mystic woman resting on her matt, cross-legged, with her huge hat supporting Pecker, the curious monkey-bird hybrid with the vibrant colors of a toucan over most of his body. They were in the command center inside the central fortress in Haven City, with Ashelin and Torn standing just across the holo-table from them. Ashelin was quick to respond. “He wouldn’t call a meeting like this if he didn’t mean it, maybe he got forcibly delayed.”

Onin gestured with her hands, sparkles of light flowing from her finger tips as Pecker interpreted. “Onin says that Samos is simply hiding his concern behind a crotchety old man’s temper.”

Samos frowned at the pair of them as Torn and Ashelin shared a dry look.

Then the doors behind them gushed with hydraulics, clanking open. Everyone faced the opening, and saw Jak, with Daxter on his shoulder, and Keira, with Tess on her own. Jak waved calmly. “Sorry we’re late. A storm was just kicking up, slowed the shuttle down.”

Once he reached the table, Daxter and Tess each hopped onto the edge. Tess was quick to hold her personal hero’s hand, and though the Jak’s pal was a little anxious, let her without verbal fuss. Keira just stood by Jak calmly for the moment.

“We think there may be a serious problem coming,” Jak began directly, giving everyone a grave look. “Seem, one of the Precursor monks, has been having visions, and she’s not the kind that goes off on useless tangents. She thinks something bad is coming, and that something in the desert is calling it to our world. This might make the Dark Makers look like a parade.”

Silent alarm pulsed through the group, everyone quickly sharing glances and looks of uncertainty. Samos frowned in deep thought, and then looked up to Jak with his differently magnified eyes. “You’re certain of this?”

“I’d trust Seem like I trust Onin on this kind of thing,” Jak answered with a nod.

Keira added, “And so does Sig. This looks as serious as Seem fears.”

Daxter hopped up and down. “Not to _mention_ the fact that _something_ in that blasted wasteland is nuking marauders left, right, and center!” his hands jerked in each direction relative to him as if they were guns.

Keira and Jak both gave dry glares at the back of his head, but then Keira added to the group, “Metal-Heads took out a large force of Marauders, but they were using advanced tactics, military style.”

Jak nodded. “Exactly. I’ve never seen Metal-Heads fight like this. I’m worried, and we think it might have something to do with whatever… thing is coming.”

Onin had been conspicuously silent, at least through Pecker, until this point. Her gravely held façade remained as her hands started to paint words into the air. Pecker’s usually quick mouth was silent this time as his eyes widened a bit. “…Okay… this isn’t good. Onin says that this monk girl is absolutely right. Onin doesn’t understand how she missed it before, but now she is aware of a great _evil_ coming to claim this world. Worse than the Dark Makers— _WORSE_ than the Dark Makers!?” he suddenly blurted down at the old woman. Everyone shared his surprise to some degree, but Onin turned firmly annoyed, and kept gesturing. “Okay, okay, sorry,” the bird-monkey replied with calming gestures of his wings as he leaned upright. “She also says that these things are almost unknown to her. Even the Precursors…” he trailed off, looking down at the woman beneath his feet.

Jak leaned over the table sharply. “What is she saying, Pecker!?”

The accented hybrid looked up quite seriously, “Even the Precursors have not dealt with this evil very well before. Onin says that they are known only as ‘the Darken’, and have stayed far from Precursor defended space for countless eons… until now.”

Onin gave a few sharp gestures, and he added, “Nothing more than a few ‘border skirmishes’ have marked the previous history between the Precursors and these evil beings.”

Samos focused on Jak the next instant. “By my sprouts, Jak, this is deadly! If even the Precursors haven’t dealt with these things before, we’re in deep trouble. We must contact them!”

Jak helplessly raised his hands. “How? When I told them I was staying here, they just left!”

Daxter rounded on him. “See!? It’s all your fault, Jak! I told ya we shoulda gotten those zappy, crazy, Precursor peeps to stay!”

“Not now, Dax,” Jak firmly retorted.

Onin rapidly gestured again, and Pecker started talking rapidly, “Onin says, ‘the young monk girl, Seem, may be key to fighting this new threat. If she has detected their evil long before me,” Pecker gestured down, “Onin!—then she may find a way to defend this world. Contacting the Precursors may be difficult, but not impossible. However, something on our world is indeed drawing the Darken here.’ Seem may be able to find it, but Onin believes something has just changed, that may have put us in imminent peril.”

Jak tensed. “Like what?”

Pecker continued to interpret, “The darkness here is no longer clear to Onin. It has become unpredictably vague, and the lines of fate are turning black. Onin… is not sure what to do.”

Samos stamped his staff again. “We have no time to lose. Jak, I want you to get back to Spargus and work with Sig to get to the bottom of the darkness on _our_ world. I will work with Onin, and see if we can’t find a way to contact the Precursors for help.”

“In the meantime,” Ashelin finally cut in, stepping over to Jak and taking one of his hands, planting a small device in it firmly, “take this. If things get hot, call us in. We’ll have hellcats on the way as fast as possible.”

Jak nodded, “Let’s just hope a storm isn’t in the way, or they won’t do much good.” He pocketed the device with a thankful smile, which Ashelin returned dryly.

Keira was watching sidelong, but was more at-ease than before. “It looks like that desert Zoomer I’ve been working on might be just what the doctor ordered. I’ll stay behind this time, and try to get it finished and running for you, Jak.”

Jak grinned. “Just like old times, Keira.”

She almost giggled, but the seriousness of the situation kept her calm. “Just keep yourself in one piece, Jak.”

“’Ey! What about me!?” Daxter yelled with a hop of frustration.

Tess tackle-hugged him. “Don’t worry, Daxter! I’ll keep those mean Darken monsters away from you! My little snuggly-wuggly whisker-puss!”

Torn had to keep his pained groan quiet, knowing well the temper he’d unleash if Tess heard it. Ashelin just nudged him wryly, and focused on Jak. “Then get rolling you… three. Keira, if you need any supplies, just let us know. I’m giving your desert-zoomer project official Haven City backing in this state of emergency.”

Keira blinked in surprise, but then smiled, nodding. “Thank you, Ashelin! I’ll work as fast as I can.”

“And it’ll be the best thing anyone’s seen in years,” Jak added to Keira sincerely, which made her blush and cross her arms in front of her suit.

Jak wrenched Daxter off the table, and let Tess hop onto his other shoulder. “Let’s ride!” And he ran out of the command center, Keira hurrying off the next moment herself.

Ashelin looked back to the others. “If we live through _this_ , I really hope things get quiet for a while on this planet.”

“You’re telling me!” Pecker snapped with a jabbing wing-motion. “That was me, by the way.”

The unanimous response, including a gesture from Onin, was, “We noticed.”

* * *

In the throne-room at Spargus, Sig looked up with his organic eye as the lift started rising from the ground level. He sat back, frowning thoughtfully, until he saw a familiar green-blond head and orange, scruffy ottsel. “Jak, Daxter! Ah, and Tess!” he added as the young lady came into view down at Jak’s knee-level. She seemed perfectly happy to be on her own feet for the moment.

Jak walked up with his two companions. “Hey, Sig. Sorry, but this is serious. We’da been here sooner, but a major storm kicked up. Onin warned us that Seem’s vision was right on the money,” he smacked one fist into the other hand as he stopped on front of the steps at Sig’s throne.

Sig stood up, his peacemaker slung on his shoulder. “Just great.”

Daxter pointed at him. “Oh wait. It gets _better_!”

Sig paused, and Tess tossed one hand down. “Not even the Precursors have handled what’s coming too well before.”

Jak nodded. “Something called the Darken. And Onin couldn’t really read them clearly, she thinks Seem might be vital to getting to the bottom of this, especially with whatever is drawing them here.”

Sig shunted his jaw forward, looking off as he rapidly ran through his priorities. “Alright, it’s like this. We find Seem, see if we can’t help her find the bait for the Darken, and then we find a way to smash it real hard and real fast. Ya with me?”

Jak and Tess smirked, Daxter sharing a dark grin.

A communicator popped up on Sig’s left as he faced them, the low, rasped voice of one of the monks coming clearly over it. “King Sig, please forgive the interruption, but I have urgent business to address.”

Sig shared a grave look with Jak and the others, then answered, “Talk to me.”

“Have you heard or seen Seem yet today?”

More urgently, Sig answered, “No. What’s the deal?”

There was an ominous delay, and then the monk’s voice continued. “If she was not heard from by noon today, I was told to inform you of something. The darkness drawing the evil to our world is in the desert just South of the city, past the rock wall, in a shallow pit among the dunes. …If she has not told you herself, I fear…”

“We’ll take care of it!” Sig snapped abruptly. “You monks sit tight at the temple, we’ll check it out.” The communicator vanished, and he shared an alarmed look with Jak, Daxter, and Tess each. “I don’t like this at all. Seem is always responsible, but if she somehow got caught out in that storm…”

Jak already had his morph-gun in his hands. “We have to look for her.”

“No kidding. She’s not just a friend, chili-pepper, if it’s just a pit in the desert, it’s gonna be hard to do anything about the problem.” Sig shouldered his gun. “Let’s take the new Gila Stomper. Bigger, badder, and with more seating capacity than ever baby.”

Tess hopped along. “I’ll man the gun-turret!”

They were almost running for the lift when it descended for someone else. Sig skidded to a halt, irritated, but they all waited as the lift came into view again… And they all froze in stunned shock.

Seem stood there alone, a bandage on her head, part of her head-piece torn, and looking a bit battered. “King Sig, I have urgent information for you!” she almost shouted just to get the words out of her lungs. She had obviously wasted no time getting to the palace.

“Your monks told me about the darkness in the desert. Where have you been?” Sig asked, coming closer and pulling her into the throne-room proper with almost fatherly care.

The relatively slight monk met Jak’s eyes for a heart-beat, finally pulled near some of the fresh water by Sig. She knelt down and scooped some into her mouth, but quickly rose to speak. “Then you know my urgency. I went into the desert last night, to investigate the location of the darkness I saw in a new vision—“

“And, and!?” Daxter impatiently snapped at her, only to get a smack from behind by Jak.

Seem just gave Jak another glance from looking to Daxter, and then focused on Sig. “It was indeed there, and I have never felt such a cold, ancient darkness. I was almost brought to collapse, and before I could take my Leaper—“

“You rode into the desert on a LEAPER!?” Sig snapped in appalled shock.

Seem’s eyes tightened, but she only continued, “Marauders surrounded us—!”

“Marauders!?” everyone blurted out this time, Jak almost dropping his gun.

“I don’t recall exactly what happened…” Seem trailed off unnaturally, remembering despite her urgency what she had promised Frost. “…A wasterlander found me, fought off the marauders, and shared shelter with us during the storm. I departed as soon as it was possible to arrive.” She dropped to her knees in front of Sig. “Please, your majesty! I must beg you to go to this place and destroy the evil beneath it! They are coming!” She only raised her head to look pleadingly up into Sig’s eyes.

Sig was a bit awkward, but nodded. “O-Of course, Seem. We were just heading out to find you. Come with us, and show us the place. We’ll be able to figure something out.”

“Thank you!” Seem rasped, rising abruptly and heading for the lift already.

Jak hurried after her. For some reason, the little tufts of hair visible through her torn cowl surprised him. He’d expected her to be bald beneath, for whatever reason, and the short, pale hair suited her. “Seem, there’s more to it. Onin was telling me that you might be the key, since not even she could sense the Darken coming until now.” Daxter, Tess, and Sig were not far behind.

Seem looked at Jak with further surprise, a great deal of emotion on her usually calm, collected face. “Onin believes I…? The Darken?” And now that she could focus on Jak as the lift descended, the part of her new vision flared in her mind. “Y-you…”

Jak’s brow creased. “Me?”

“I remember now… the darkness in the sands. It is somehow tied to you, hero, but… I can not explain how.”

The young man turned grave. “I don’t like where this is going…”

“And you’re taking me with you…”

Daxter got another smack upside the head. Sig took the lead, however, once they reached the bottom. In the city garage, they piled into a longer, taller Gila Stomper truck, Tess scrambling back to the main gun, Seem and Daxter taking the rear seats in the ‘cockpit’, while Jak and Sig sat in front. Sig quickly accelerated out through the doors, and into the desert.

Seem touched the device Frost had given her beneath her armor. “I hope it is not too late…”

Jak locked and loaded his blaster as they drove. “It’s not.”


	6. War Makes Strange...

The modified Gila Stomper skidded to a halt in the sands South of the cliffs, just over the main dunes before the vague pit where Seem had been accosted by the marauders and felt the old darkness. Seem leaned forward, pointing ahead. “Just there, your majesty. Beneath that dip in the sands, far beneath.”

Sig nodded slowly. “Roger that. I’ll pull in closer then.” He more slowly drove the vehicle ahead as she sat back.

Daxter looked around, tapping at this teeth with his fingertips as he nervously glanced at the cliffs and sands. “Suddenly this place is creeping me out, Jak…” he drew out in a forced sing-song manner.

“Just relax, Dax. We’ll figure out what we can, and deal with it like we did all the others,” Jak replied smoothly, holding his gun as Sig pulled to a halt again, just turning a bit to the left as the nose of the vehicle reached the edge of the depression in the sand.

Jak hopped out, Daxter zipping onto his shoulder, and Seem was about to jump down herself behind him before he offered his hands. She took them, and more lightly dropped to the sand as the hero quickly yanked his weapon up to the ready. Seem led him to the center as Sig pulled his Peacemaker into his arms, and climbed down in front of the Gila Stomper, Tess keeping the Vulcan-cannon on the back ready.

Already, Seem was troubled. She knelt down in the sand, pressing her hand to the already burning particles under the intense sun of the day.

“Talk to me, Seem,” Jak muttered gravely.

She slowly shook her head. “…I fear that we may be too late, though I can’t understand how this has happened.”

Sig looked down at her with a bit of frustration. “What do you mean, Seem?”

The young monk looked up at her king with sincere fear in her eyes, her ears drooping ever-so faintly with dread. “It is gone, majesty. The darkness that brought me to my knees before is not here. The location is still there, I can feel the Dark Eco now that it is alone, but what was here is now gone.”

Jak only looked at her in grave concern, but Sig let his Peacemaker down. “Gone as in taken already, or…”

“No longer contained here,” Seem offered in a low, softening voice, bowing her head back to the sand. “The darkness from the stars has not come yet, it can’t possibly have, but this… the one drawing it…”

Sig jammed the butt of his weapon into the sand. “Well isn’t that just hunky-dory? No idea where it went?”

Seem finally stood, pressing one hand to her knee, letting the other hang toward the sands. “Not as yet, my king. Please forgive my failure… I did all I knew I could.”

Jak put a hand on her shoulder, which surprised the monk enough to look at him. He offered a calm smile. “We see that. Anyway, is there anything you might sense that could help us prepare?” he asked as he let his hand down.

Daxter rolled his eyes. “Fat load of good she’s done _so far_!”

Seem looked down guiltily, but Jak just grabbed his friend by the mouth with a firm glare sidelong. “Not _now_ , Dax.” He looked to Seem, letting his hand down from Daxter’s face, “Sorry, Seem, just ignore him. Is there anything?”

She shook her head, looking up at him sorrowfully. “No… Only vague premonitions, the awareness of the sheer gravity of the threat, but no details. Nothing of immediate, tangible value.” Despite Jak’s kindness, she could not help feeling his furry companion was correct. What good had she really done?

Sig was about to speak to them both, his grizzled face warm in its dry way, but then both he and Jak snapped their weapons up to the cliffs behind Seem, the monk rapidly twisting around as she realized they were reacting to something. Her eyes flared anew, Sig, Jak, and Daxter no less astonished themselves. Tess just twisted the gun up, and blinked, wincing a bit at the sight.

A Prowler was hunched over the rocks just a few meters above their heads on the wall not so far away itself. The shadowy, dark beast lurched into the air, opening its armored maw, and unleashing a horrible, hissing roar as bladed tentacles coiled and shivered from inside. Immediately, two more of the creatures dropped from higher rocks, landing with disturbing ease, and clinging to the rocks without the slightest skid or failure of grip. From their whip-like tails to their large claws, the creatures very much seemed like something out of a nightmare or horror-movie. The first’s glistening red eyes sharpened down at Jak, who was aiming with his Blaster, and then all three pounced.

“Seem, get down!” Jak snapped, firing and tracking the leader as it arced through the air.

Seem ducked, almost curling into a ball on the sand, as Sig snapped off two weak Peacemaker shots, clipping each of the other Prowlers. The beasts twirled off, slamming into the cliff on the right, and the sands on the far left.

Jak spun around as he almost aimed vertically, and followed the leader as it landed behind him, already hit by two or three shots. It took another shot straight to the face, and flipped over itself, slamming into the sand heavily.

Daxter suddenly shouted, and continued with, “ _What the hell is THAT_!?”

Jak was just staring at the thing with a slackened jaw, shaking his head, so Sig quickly retorted, “No idea, fur-ball, now let’s get out of here. We aren’t equipped for any more of those things.”

Seem quickly rose up. “I have never felt such darkness from a creature… not even from you, hero,” she gravely pointed out, meeting Jak’s concerned gaze.

“Guys!” Tess shouted, “Watch out!”

Sig and Jak looked to either side as they crouched, Jak shoving down on Seem’s shoulders with his free arm. Tess opened fire with the Vulcan-cannon, spraying across their heads, as the three Prowlers rose up, apparently uninjured in the slightest. Worse, the leader, the closest to the Gila Stomper, took a well-aimed volley to his shoulder and back from Tess, only to turn and growl at her, mildly annoyed.

“Sig!” Jak shouted.

“With ya!”

They each fired at the two Prowlers to either side, and snapped around as they rose, firing in unison, and blasting the leader in the chest, knocking it on its back.

“Let’s go, chili-peppers. No point fighting like this!” Sig ran toward the Gila Stomper, Jak tugging Seem a bit to let her know they were running. The monk sprinted after him, Daxter bobbing on his shoulder.

The sound of more Prowlers hissing and leaping down the cliffs behind them sent a shiver crystallizing up Seem’s spine, and she risked a glance toward the rocks. There were easily ten of them where there had only been three. And then she saw the original leader rocket into the air after them. Seem snapped her eyes forward. “Jak!”

He looked back, and saw the creature flying through the air. His gun was up, but his face fell, and he suddenly looked ahead himself. “Tess! Look out!”

The Prowler slammed down onto the roof of the Gila Stomper, and roared straight at the young Ottsel woman, the black tentacles shivering at her through the air from its armored jaw.

“Tess!” Daxter yelled in dismay.

Firming her expression, the ottsel woman jerked the cannon higher with a sharp shove of her arms, and opened fire. The Prowler jerked back under the onslaught, its body shivering from the impacts, but refused to let go of the vehicle with its feet. In fact, it was already starting to reach down through the hail of fire for her.

A distorted roar sounded, and Tess yelped as Dark Jak bashed into the monster from the side. She barely remembered to stop firing as he came in front of her, throwing the other beast off the vehicle. Arcs of dark energy forked between his claws and the creature, Jak rapidly reverting to his usual self before it hurt Tess as well. He looked down at her with a faint smile, Daxter leaping from his shoulder and grabbing the woman in a hug.

Sig yanked Seem up with him, and revved the engine while he charged a shot with his gun in his other hand, resting it on the front of the cock-pit. Jak turned, and started to unload his Vulcan Fury cannon on the Prowlers rushing them, buying Sig the few seconds he needed. As the armored Wastelander let rip with the peacemaker, Jak ran back, and jumped down into his chair, Daxter following after Tess returned his grateful hug.

As Tess re-aimed with the Gila Stomper’s gun, the peacemaker shot slammed into the first Prowler. Arcs of power ripped out as it flew back, catching the entire group of them in a net of destructive energy. The Gila Stomper revved backward, twisting in the sand, and sped away.

“Oh no… _Guys!_ ” Tess yelled as she aimed back to cover their escape.

Jak stood with a firm grip on part of the roll-cage, looking back as his hair and scarf lashed in the wind. His brow creased in alarm as he saw what Tess was warning them about. Every single dark beast was still after them, and were leaping across the sands with incredible speed, closing the gap and threatening to overtake them already. “Sig, we’re not gonna outrun them!” He was already yanking his blaster up, and firing precise shots to keep the creatures knocked back. Tess was doing a good job of spraying bullets behind them in a suppressing pattern, but the creatures just kept coming.

As Sig simply accelerated, handling the vehicle as well as anyone could, Seem looked down into nothing anxiously. Their world’s darkness had come to life to answer the approaching Darken… But right then, they needed help. She looked up at Jak, who was focused completely on his task of covering their vehicle with his fire, and then pressed her hand to the device Frost had given her, where it was nestled under her armored robe.

Sig growled as he had to swerve right, Jak aiming to the left of the vehicle along with Tess and opening fire more rapidly. The Prowlers were forcing them away from Spargus.

“I’ll head South! Through the tunnel!” Sig shouted his notice, and accelerated Southward again, curving away from the dark monsters.

“Don’t be alarmed!” was all Seem shouted before she yanked the small device out, raised it in her hands, and squeezed it. Several parts of its design compressed under her grip, and the glowing point burst into the air with a sharp chime, leaving a trail of distorted air and dark energy.

Jak jerked his head down, pausing in his fire. “What was that!?”

“A call for help!” Seem called back over the roar of gun-fire and revving motor.

“To who!?” Sig yelled back to her as he held a particularly dangerous skid through one dune.

“A friend.”

Even Seem jerked a bit when the shock-wave explosion erupted in the air behind them, and she looked back to see a blazing purple cloud of distorted energy, the wave of the explosion just flowing back in on itself and blinking out of existence.

Across the sands, the river, past the tunnel Sig was driving for, down the deep, dark cave, spiraling into the planet… Frost’s red eyes snapped open with a flash of power. _Seem…_ He looked to his left. “Go. Now.” And a deep, rumbling thunder started to surge up through the cave.

Back with the Gila Stomper, Tess and Jak were doing their best to keep the Prowlers off their backs, and Sig’s driving was as good as could be asked for, but Seem and Daxter shared a rare moment of camaraderie as they waited, unable to help. Looking ahead, Seem could see the river. It was not very far away. The tunnel was just past the river, leading straight through the mountains in the heart of the desert, and back around toward Spargus. Jak actually switched to his grenade launcher for a few rounds, forcing a few of the leaping shadows to fly back and tumble into the sands, but they were catching up just as fast.

Getting frustrated, Jak finally saw one of them starting to roar at him as it leapt, and he snapped his gun into its blaster format. The creature was just leaping free of a stone pillar in the sands, and he fired. The shot went straight through the monster’s tentacles, and down its gullet. The beast snapped into a reverse somersault, plowing into the sand, and he watched it writhe onto its back just before bursting into thick, oily substance, which flew into particles and nothing before it could even hit the ground. “Shoot ‘em in the mouth!” he shouted to Tess in case she didn’t know what he’d done.

“Got it!” the little ottsel woman shouted back firmly, her entire body rattling with the power of the cannon with which she was spraying bullets into the Prowlers.

“Hold on back there!” Sig shouted. “I’ve gotta jump the river!”

Jak bit off a curse, ramming himself down into his seat, looking at the river _right there_. “Sig!?” he actually yelped on instinct.

The Gila Stomper’s rear exploded with two flaming jets, and the hydraulics pulsed down. The vehicle leapt off the sands, flying across the first arm of the river, and slammed into the sandy bank in the middle of the small bulge in the river Sig happened to try to jump across. He never stopped, and was letting the thruster-boost recharge for another leap free of the water, but it was enough.

The Prowlers came rushing up, and shot across the river like shadows. Tess sprayed behind them with the cannon, forcing the beast’s to avoid the vehicle itself, but they still hit the far bank. Jak started firing forward as Sig revved back up onto the sands, but in an instant, he had to swerve too hard to the right as a Prowler clamped onto the left side of the cock-pit.

The Gila Stomper skidded to a complete stop in the sands, Sig ducking down, and Jak ramming the barrel of his blaster into the Prowler’s open mouth, the tentacles coiling around the stalk of his gun. “Enjoy.” _Crack_.

The creature snap-flipped off, blasting into black fluid and dust in a spiraling mess before it all vanished through the air. Jak rose up on his feet in the chair, panning his gun around, Tess doing so for the rear.

They were surrounded by the remaining Prowlers, their tails and tentacles whipping and lashing in frenzied irritation, along with their horrible roars. Sig had the Gila Stomper running, but they had no viable path to accelerate toward. “…Just great.”

Another roar sounded, but this one was different. It was thunderous, and the sands shook with mighty steps that went right along with it. Jak aimed his blaster, but couldn’t help tightening his eyes in confusion… as a Wasteland Metal-Head came crashing over the closest dune-line.

The green and tan lizard-like beast was as massive as a dinosaur, with the tremendous legs and tiny arms of a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but with a massive cannon articulated on its back, and the glowing skull-gem glistening brilliantly in the desert sun. The beast opened its monstrous jaws just as the closest Prowler twisted around, and simply bit the beast off the sands, sending it flying with a flick of its head, plowing clear through the next two.

Two more Metal-Head cannon chargers burst over the sandy waves, one dipping its head down and simply ramming one of the Prowlers off into the river. Daxter watched in growing awe, and then wailed, “Jaaaak! They’re getting closer to _us_ now!”

Jak started to aim with Tess, but Seem shot up. “No, please wait!” she urged, her hands grabbing onto Jak’s blaster.

Stunned, he stared down into her pleading expression in growing confusion. “Seem… they’re Metal-Heads…” he reminded her quietly, even Sig staring at the monk like Daxter usually did.

“Are you _insane_ , Seem?” the Spargus King finally demanded.

She looked to him with the same urgent pleading. “I beg of you… trust me. Please do not attack these Metal-Heads.”

Jak slowly lowered his gun from aiming at the closest one himself. Tess was watching them in confusion, but focused her aiming back on the Prowlers.

A Metalpede burst out of the sands beneath another Prowler, the massive silver-armored, blue-skinned bug simply took the black creature in its three-part mandibles, and sent it flying off into the far cliffs, a horrifying demonstration of raw power.

A scream made Jak twist his blaster toward the back of the Gila Stomper, Daxter, Seem, and even Sig looking there in alarm as well. Tess was twisting the cannon around, but a Prowler was right on top of her on the side of the vehicle, its jaw just opening. Jak almost fired… before a silver and blue mass slammed the Prowler off the Gila Stomper, and back into the bank of the river. Jak blinked, and saw an ape-type Metal-Head wrestling with the dark beast, soon joined by a group of his fellows, pounding on the black creature mercilessly… and completely ignoring the Gila Stomper.

Tess finally looked over to Seem. “Are they on our side?”

Seem nodded. “Yes. Please believe me. These Metal-Heads will not harm us.”

Jak was staring at her. “How…?”

“…I can’t explain, please just use it?” Seem managed with a wince of hesitation.

His brow creased, but he nodded, and starting snapping off shots to support the growing swarm of scorpion and ape-like Metal-Heads, along with a few, four-legged blaster ones, like those that had ambushed the hive assault from the walls.

Sig finally rose up from his seat with his peacemaker in hand. “Let’s put it to ‘em!”

With Metal-Heads of every kind swarming around in support, Tess, Jak, and Sig started blasting away. The Prowlers were being pummeled into the sands, slowly bursting into nothing as their tough hides were either finally over-come with raw power from so many attacks, or shots through their vulnerable mouths finished them off.

Seem abruptly clutched a hand to her chest, and looked past Jak, back across the river. Her heart almost fell through her stomach. “…Look. To the North!”

Jak, Sig, and Daxter twisted… and saw a small swarm of Prowlers shooting across the sands toward them. Easily twenty strong in number, they looked even more aggressive than the first group, seemingly angered by the loss of some of their fellows.

And just as suddenly, the smoldering, dark-eco-powered blasts from the Metal-Head cannon beasts were arcing over their heads, and exploding around the charging Prowlers, the three beasts lining up just behind the Gila Stomper. Unfortunately, the Prowlers were scattering and regrouping so skillfully that the onslaught was doing little good.

Sig jerked back with his peacemaker as a Prowler surged up over the nose of the Gila Stomper. Jak twisted around, but the beast grabbed his gun and Sig’s neck with its huge claws, and yanked Sig clear out of the vehicle, snapping its tail into Jak to slam the hero down into the seat, and then pounced back onto Sig, who gave it a good whack across the face with his fist. He shook his fist in pain as the beast opened its mouth, the tentacles starting to swarm out.

“ _Not a chance!_ ” Jak’s distorted voice roared, and Sig heard the sand thump on his left just before the Prowler flew off him, a glowing, pale, black-taloned fist hovering in its wake.

Sig quickly scrambled upright, twisting his gun around to aim outward, as Dark Jak heavily breathed, turning around, looking for a fight with his glistening black eyes. The same Prowler started to rise off the sand, batting several Metal-Heads away with powerful blows.

Dark Jak’s senses were stretching through time, however, his claws closed near his front as dark power built between them, his eyes focused on the Prowler with malefic pleasure. “ _Get up from THIS!_ ” He twisted around, and let the dark blast snap off his right claw, the bolo-shot tethered with raw energy blasting across the sands and slamming into the beast like a comet. The sand was crackling and shining into glass from the trail of dark energies forking and arcing across it on the path, but Jak grinned with sharpened teeth as he saw the Prowler burst into nothing amidst the explosion. “ _Oh yeah… real tough._ ”

But then he grunted, flung back into the beginnings of the river with an explosion of water and energy alike by a dark fist of black sinew. Crimson eyes narrowed, the Prowler stomped forward upright as it lowered its fist, its multi-jointed legs pulling it smoothly with high speed.

Dark Jak roared with fury, his voice distorted with power as it crackled off his extended arms and taut body, the water rippling away from him. The two leapt, time stretching as they shifted for the impact, each aiming to claw the other with as many limbs as possible, and rushed into the collision. A shock-wave blasted into the sand from the blow, and they were flung from each other. The beast, however, was just rising upright when a dark fist rammed into its jaw. Even more energy exploded from the impact, and the creature flew off at the end of a trail of crackling energy, finally bursting into nothing before it could really hit the sand again.

Jak reverted painfully, and breathed down past his shivering hands. Sig backed up to him, aiming across the river. “Doing alright, kid?”

“Yeah… I guess… They’re tough, but not invincible,” he managed, turning around. He glanced at the Gila Stomper, and saw Seem watching him with calm concern. He pulled his blaster out, standing by with Sig… and the surrounding swarm of Metal-Heads that was watching the charging Prowlers as well.

“Oh, come on. You didn’t think a bunch of the darkest, baddest monsters in the universe were gonna get _us_ down did you?” Sig replied in his usual humor, chuckling as the peacemaker charged.

Jak shifted to the Needle-Laser with a smirk. “Of course, what was I thinking?”

The cannon Metal-Heads started to fire again, but as Jak, Sig, and the others watched, the Prowlers scattered perfectly around their shots… only to get pinned flawlessly by strange, powerful blasts of dark energy that lanced through the air from further behind even the Metal-Heads. Jak’s brow creased as three Prowlers burst into nothing from the shots, several sent tumbling back into the sands… but the bulk were charging right on through. The Metal-Heads and darkly-powered sniper continued to fire, picking off a few more, but soon, another wave was leaping across the river, into a storm of peacemaker and tracking laser-needles, with Tess spraying the bank with the Gila Stomper’s cannon.

Jak noticed that the sniper stopped firing once the Prowlers reached the river, but he didn’t let it slow him down in filling the air with death for the dark beasts. That he was getting support from a small army of Metal-Heads was just something he’d be confused about when he wasn’t imminently worried about dying.

Seem slowly stood up in her seat beside Daxter, watching the battle raging around her. Yet her eyes fell down to their own side of the river, around Sig and Jak, her friends, to the Metal-Heads supporting them. Scorpion-types even swarmed the Prowlers that tried to leap at them, and the ape-types and leapers were meeting them on the far bank or where they landed. Something, despite the dire situation, seemed so wonderful about the alliance, however temporary, between them. It was a though even the dark eco was part of the beauty of the world for a moment. Part of the balance instead of the threat to it. _Do you see this, Frost? What you do…?_

Her mind instantly snapped back to reality when a Prowler slammed straight down into the side of the Gila-Stomper in front of her. Daxter squealed, and dove back toward Tess over his seat, but Seem fell back against the roll-cage bar, her eyes flaring as her mouth fell slack. She couldn't think of what to do, and the beast was rushing down upon her with its jaw opening…

A rush of wind and a violently rippling cloth blasted over her head, and the Prowler flew off with it. Seem quickly uprighted, and hopped to the far side, looking down on the hooded, cloaked figure with a long, warped rifle in one claw, and the other back-handing the Prowler with such raw force that it flew to the far side the river amid a narrow arc of crackling, purple lightning.

Pausing, Frost looked up at her, gripping his altered rifle in both claws, and just gave a faint nod. Seem smiled gently, and tipped her head with a prayerful gesture of gratitude. In a rush, he shot to his right, toward Jak and Sig. Seem turned, watching intently.

The two warriors were fending off several Prowlers, but three landed around them anyway. Jak twisted, firing into the one further behind to his left, while Sig blew away the opposite one on their back side with his peacemaker. They turned just enough to see the cloaked figure slam into the third Prowler, take it to the sand, and ram the butt of its strange weapon into the beast’s face.

Frost, his face well-obscured by the hood, simply rose up, and fired straight down into the creature’s face with his rifle. The bolt of dark power unleashed a small explosion of energy, distorting out in a sphere-wave, before he whipped around, seeming to aim straight at Jak. Sig and Jak were aiming at him the next heart-beat, but Frost just said, “Down.”

Jak and Sig flattened, and the dark-bolt ripped across them, obliterating another Prowler through the mouth.

Flowing around in another turn, Frost’s left claw came from his gun, and he snapped his body around violently, his arm jerking down as he finished. A dark-bolt shot off past the Gila Stomper, twirling like Jak’s through the air, only oriented vertically, and caught two Prowlers leaping across the river, blowing up brilliantly and taking both with it. His right arm was perfectly aimed to fire into another Prowler, but the shot exploded against its chest, only knocking the creature back into the bank.

Jak and Sig finally rose up from the sand, only to see the cloaked figure get tackled into the sand by three separate Prowlers from almost vertically in the air. The darkly warped rifle hit the sand on its own, and the cluster battle rolled back further toward the Metal-Heads. Seem’s eyes widened with fear for the young man she knew to be inside the battle, but she quickly ducked when two Prowlers went flying and the third skidded back through the sand amid a crackling sphere of power all around the cloaked, warped man. As the three Prowlers recovered and charged, Frost snapped his arms down to either side and roared with unnatural power. Dark lightning forked off his lower arms and claws.

The first Prowler leapt in at his front, and took a blow to the face so violent and powerful that it spun like a pin-wheel in mid-air before slamming into the sand with a blared screech of pain. Spinning through the punch, Frost met the second Prowler behind himself with an uppercut. Dark power exploded from the blow, and the Prowler flew apart as it rocketed into the air, slamming into the cliffs with its last remains. A final flow of his turn brought Frost back around for the last Prowler, which took a full-powered fist to its chest. The creature flew off, folded around the point of impact on its body, on the end of a roaring trail of dark purple-red lightning, before dispersing against a rocky outcropping dozens of meters away.

As the cloaked figure turned toward the river again, Sig and Jak watching him with mutual shock, they turned their own weapons up to meet the last rush of Prowlers. Jak saw the fire from Sig, the Metal-Heads, and the dark figure already building for another attack, and realized what he had to do.

Putting his gun away with a rush, Jak went to one knee, leaned back as he called power up with his form, and slammed his hands together over himself. The light power erupted over his form, and reality all but slowed to a halt. Light Jak rose to his feet smoothly, disciplined and peaceful. Wings forged of tendrils of light sprouted beautifully from his back, and he focused skyward with eyes glowing from purity.

Light Jak took flight, zooming higher into the air, and slammed his fist into the closest Prowler. The creature burst into nothing in a wave of blinding light down its form. With a blast of his wings, Jak swept into the next, and the next, and the next. Sensing his altered perception of time was fading, Jak swept down, and crouched in front of Sig. Time rushed back to normal, but Sig blinked down at the glowing effigy before him, and the nearly halved number of Prowlers remaining.

“They can not withstand the light,” Jak’s luminous voice flowed out with purpose and control. A shield of blue light burst to life around him, and the two Prowlers that tried to attack him burst into nothing against it.

More landed, but before anyone could do anything, Light Jak rushed into them with smooth, adroit technique, his lightest touch dismissing them. At last, he swirled smoothly to a halt in front of the cloaked figure, facing him. No more Prowlers remained.

Sig and the others watched, Seem leaning forward intently, as Light Jak faced the dark figure that had come to their aid. Seem’s expression fell with empathy, her hand actually coming out even at so great a distance, as she saw Frost hiding his face from Jak, and easing back, actually in pain merely from the light power’s presence.

Jak’s eyes tightened, and he suddenly reverted, the light bursting off his form with a distortion and rainbows filtering through the air. He blinked, coming back to his normal perceptions, and watched the darkly clad creature ease faintly.

“…Thank you…” Frost rasped, hoping his voice wasn’t recognizable.

Jak was quiet a moment longer, stuck for words with the appearance of the creature in front of him. He could see faint traces of smoke curling off its body… as if the light had burnt it. “…You control the Metal-Heads?”

“I am their leader now, yes.”

“…Thank you for your help. I’m pretty sure you saved our lives today. I didn’t mean to harm you,” Jak finished sincerely, gesturing at his arm, which was still smoking a bit.

Frost simply tipped his head faintly. Jak could only make out the glowing eyes and skull-gem, but felt the voice was hauntingly familiar. The cloaked one said, “I knew you didn’t. I see that your light powers are the best weapon against those monsters… Well… monsters in general,” a touch of sad humor entered his voice as subtle signs of sharp teeth were exposed by a dry smile.

Jak managed a bit of a laugh, but felt more pity than humor. “You don’t seem to be a monster… What’s your name?”

“…Please forgive me if I don’t share that just yet, hero… I need to return with the Metal-Heads to our nest, but I would appreciate a word with the young monk.”

Sig stepped forward. “Hold on a second. Where is this nest?”

Frost turned, his glowing eyes tightening. “We will not expand, and I am policing your desert for marauders. I would appreciate some leniency on taking part of a no-man’s land for my home, your majesty.”

Though the tone was a bit sharp for his liking, Sig didn’t want to give the man who’d just saved their lives, at least until Jak realized how useful his light powers were, too hard a time. “Fair enough.”

Frost cleared his throat. “My apologies for my tone. I… am short-tempered these days…” He gestured to the Gila Stomper, the Metal-Heads already starting to melt away into the sands. “May I please have a word with the monk… privately?”

Sig and Jak shared a glance. “If she wants to,” Jak said with a nod, and they headed back to the vehicle themselves.

While Frost waited patiently, Jak looked up to Seem at the Stomper. “He wants to talk to you alone. That a problem?”

Seem hopped down in front of him. “No, thank you. I will be back shortly.” She bowed and gestured to them, then hurried over to the cloaked figure.

Sig eased closer to Jak, Daxter and Tess hopping down to be near them as well. “How did Seem become friends with the leader of the Metal-Heads?” the king muttered, obviously being half-rhetorical.

Jak remained troubled. “There’s something about him…”

“I don’t really care! Did you see him paste those nasties!?” Daxter wailed and grinned.

Jak and Sig laughed a bit while Tess hugged him. Sig nudged the woman’s shoulder next.

“Great shooting, too, Tess.”

“Heh, thank you, Sig. I was just doing my best.”

“We all were.”

Out from the Stomper, Frost bowed gently to Seem, who reciprocated in her spiritual manner. “Sorry I was late,” he started first.

Seem shook her head, almost surprised. “Not at all. You arrived just in time. Thank you for the signal. I apologize for using it so soon…”

He raised a hand to hold her words, and then held a fresh beacon-device out to her with his other. “I simply wished to replace it for you. I think these creatures have something to do with the darkness you mentioned?”

She accepted it with a smile, but turned grave again as he finished. “I believe you are correct… the darkness beneath the sands has… moved, and it is starting to act through these creatures.” Bowing deeply, she slipped the device under her armor. “I am most grateful for your trust and aid, Mr. Frost. I did not reveal your name or specific role in my rescue, but… they may suspect something.”

“I can ask no more of you, Ms. Monk,” he replied with his gentle humor. “I hope we get to meet again under less dangerous circumstances, but until the next time… Be well.”

She returned his bow yet again, and then stood quietly for a time as he turned, drifting away into the sands, a building wind kicking at his cloak. Seem closed her eyes, praying for him, and then quickly returned to the Gila Stomper. The others were pleasant, but quiet as she sat back in her seat, but Jak glanced over at her finally, while Sig started driving through the river, heading back to Spargus.

“Would he be the one who helped you?”

Seem’s expression tightened, but she gave a soft nod.

Daxter nudged her elbow, and she looked down at him with a calm blink. “Hey, don’t be so down, sister. Being friendly with the leader of the Metal-Heads has already paid off big-time. You’ve got a major advantage going for yourself, you know what I’m saying?” he couldn’t resist a building tone that insinuated quite a bit.

A curious mixture of embarrassment and frustration flared in her chest, and Seem’s expression firmed before she looked off sharply. Daxter, even, was surprised, and Jak glanced back to see it with his own written on his face. Jak offered a faint smile, and said, “Don’t mind Dax, Seem. He gets carried away.”

She looked over, but then down with closed eyes, shaking her head faintly. “It doesn’t matter. I need to meditate on what happened today. Perhaps more will become clear…” she trailed off, looking out.

Jak eased into his seat. “And hopefully we’ll be able to look into contacting the Precursors soon, while you’re doing that.”

“Think they’ll come even if we do?” Daxter asked with candid, dry humor.

Jak chuckled a bit. “Let’s hope so.”

* * *

High up, on top of the cliffs looking down over the desert, Maia floated just over one promontory, energy crackling beneath her loose feet, the dark stone glistening in her chest. Jalnoth was crouched down behind her, following the trail of the retreating Gila Stomper with his own, sharp eyes.

“The little hero’s all grown up,” Maia muttered to herself, her hands on her hips. “Why didn’t you tell me about those powers of his? He couldn’t do that before.”

Jalnoth was unfazed, simply answering, “We were not aware either, specifically.”

She exhaled in irritation. “He’ll be more difficult than I’d suspected. The Prowlers were easily overcome once he used that… alternate form… I’ll have to make sure he can’t get a chance for that when I face him. Simple enough.”

Then Maia focused off to the right, where Frost and his Metal-Heads had vanished. “That other one, though… The dark eco has made him extremely powerful. I think I’ll look into recruiting him, yes…”

Jalnoth said, “You must have sensed the conflict within him. His power and his mind come from different places. He is not like us.”

Maia’s smile slowly grew. “Doesn’t mean he can’t be… convinced. Anyway… you want me to kill the boy hero, and I think that one will help.”

The gem-marked leader of the Prowlers shifted faintly, his tail coiling off to his left. “…What do you wish me to do?”

“You will keep an eye to Jak for the time being. I think I’ll look into getting our new player’s interest piqued in joining us.”

“How?”

Maia nodded after the Gila Stomper just before it was gone from view. “You saw him with that little, pale creature. I believe you saw her use the dark eco signal that called him here, also. I’m simply going to test her resolve…”

“Very well. I have shown you how to summon Prowlers, shall I go to my task?”

Maia was already growing pleased with her own ideas. She distantly gestured for him to leave. “Yes, yes, you do that… I’ll be fine.”

As Jalnoth crawled smoothly out of view, she looked up with her warped eyes, and started to smile with clear, dark pleasure. “I do so enjoy a good game of…” her left hand rose up, crackling with power as her talons lengthened, “cat and mouse…”


	7. Friends in Need

Jak sat down on the steps near Sig’s throne with Daxter and Tess listening as the larger pair present spoke into a floating communicator. Sig was just finishing his own report, “Never thought I’d be glad to see ‘em, but yeah, the Metal-Heads seem to have a new boss, and somehow Seem has gotten into contact with it.”

Jak added, “He was powerful, too. He used Dark Eco, but even my dark powers aren’t that… extreme.”

Samos’ voice came over the communicator. “At least your light powers may prove to be the weight that tips the scales in our favor, Jak. This is a most troubling development, but we already knew we had to be urgent.”

In the command center of the Haven City fortress, Samos, Onin with Pecker on her hat, Ashelin, Torn, and Keira were all standing around the holo-table once again, listening to Jak and Sig’s voices. Pecker piped up for Onin as Samos finished. “Onin says that the Precursor machine in Haven Forest is no longer active, but that there may well be another way to reach the Precursors.”

Torn, however, leaned to Ashelin more quietly, to avoid being heard over the comm. yet. “If they’re getting scragged by these things out there, we might want to send some back-up before Sig figures we’re not any better than… the old Baron.” He stopped short of saying ‘your father’ with a firm press of his lips.

Though she didn’t look at him, Ashelin nodded her agreement silently, and abruptly spoke up after Pecker. “King Sig, do you want us to send some support forces out there? We’re in this together, I don’t want you to feel like you’re on your own.”

They heard the deep, baritone voice chuckle. “Don’t you worry about _us_ , Governor, but the offer is appreciated. We’ll hold the line here, you just watch your tails if any of these things pop up in the city. They do _not_ go down easy.”

Though worried, Keira smiled a bit when Jak spoke up as well.

“Yeah, but if you can nail ‘em through the mouth, it’s a kill-shot. Just have to wait for that attacking roar.”

Ashelin tipped her head. “We hear you, thanks for the info.”

Samos piped up, his magnified eyes focused down on the speaker. “Just sit tight and hold the line for now, Jak. Onin and I will notify you as soon as we know something.”

“Got it,” Jak answered easily. Keira could practically see his confident half-smile.

“You chili-peppers hold on, too. Sig out,” the ruler of Spargus finished, and the line shut down.

Ashelin set her hands on her hips. “I don’t know if I should be relieved about the Metal-Heads, or even more worried…”

Samos nodded. “I am anxious myself, Ashelin.”

Pecker squawked. “Onin agrees, but also says that she feels a strange mystery about this new Metal-Head leader. The fate-lines are black, and she senses familiarity. It is not so new to us as we might think…” He frowned, looking down at the mystic as she let her hands rest. “Could you _get_ more vague?” Onin just gave him a dark upward glance of her own.

Samos’ expression remained gravely troubled, though his frown furrowed more, and he turned to the others. “We must be careful about this new leader then, but hopefully we can count on either its help, or at least not to attack us as well.”

Torn had his hands resting on his gun-hilts, the fingers waving against the weapons. “I don’t like the idea of Metal-Heads having a tactical leader. We should have a back-up plan…”

Keira, her arms naturally crossed as she stood, looked at Torn anxiously. “Wait… you mean like some kind of attack plan against them?”

His jaw shunted to one side, the guard-commander gave a simple nod.

“But they… shouldn’t we at least cut this new leader some slack?” she asked, looking to everyone present as she let her hands gesture out, uncrossing her arms. “I mean, he saved Sig, Jak, everybody there. And Seem trusts him.”

Samos raised his hand, and gestured to Keira. “No one denies that, Keira, but Torn is right. We should have a back-up plan just in case he turns out like _every_ previous Metal-Head leader.”

The commander nodded to Samos, and looked back to Keira. She was a bit surprised, in a positive way, to see a softness in his usually hard eyes this time. “Believe me, Keira. I’d love to think we don’t need to worry about the Metal-Heads anymore, but we’ve been stabbed in the back more than once in a very short war. I’m just saying we should be prepared, not that we go ahead and storm the new nest… wherever it is.”

Keira did smile a bit as she nodded. “I understand… I just… I don’t like thinking about someone who helped us like this. I think we should give this one a chance.”

“Not saying we don’t,” Torn continued with a shrug and slow shake of his head.

It didn’t seem to comfort Keira much as she looked down sadly. Jak had mentioned the new leader protecting them specifically, not just answering a general call for back-up. Her heart didn’t like the idea of preparing to attack him just because he was a Metal-Head. But… it was a tactically sound idea. And being prepared didn’t mean they _couldn’t_ trust him… just that they didn’t.

Samos finally spoke again. “Onin and I must continue our research. Good hunting.”

Keira strengthened her mood, and smiled a bit. “And I’ll get back to work on the new zoomer. I think I have a solution to some of the venting problems.”

Ashelin smiled at her. “That’s great. Just let us know if you need resources.”

The green-blue haired young woman gave a wave and nod as she walked out with her father, Onin, and Pecker. Once they were gone, Ashelin gave Torn a smirk. “You getting soft on me, Torn?”

He blinked. “What?”

“You would normally just slam someone like Keira for being naïve.” Ashelin remained mischievously amused as she leaned against the table with her hands.

Realizing what was happening finally, Torn relaxed into his old battle-smirk, crossing his arms as he looked at Ashelin sidelong. “She’s a nice kid, and isn’t getting herself in the way. ‘Sides… I feel a little guilty for planning against someone who’s already helped out our people… I just know it’s smart.”

Sharing the humor, the two went back to monitoring security reports around the city.

* * *

In the heart of the Wasteland, a lone leaper slowed to a trot before the yawning mouth of the Southern cave. The creature, in fact, still had a bandage on its leg, though it was significantly smaller than before. Seem raised her left hand to help with the glare, and looked up at the top of the cave’s entrance for a moment before slowly moving inward. The monk knew where she was going better than anyone else could thanks to the altered nature of the deeper cavern, but for a long tunnel, it was just natural sand, dirt, and rock. She saw a few Leaper Metal-Heads crawling along the walls eventually, but after spotting her, they only followed for a short time, and then returned to their preferred spots of hiding.

As she rounded a final bend in the tunnel, however, the walls altered, gaining the armored, layered architecture of Metal-Head nests. The tunnel itself ended, opening into a cavernous chamber. Metalpedes, even cannon-backed dune-runners, like the three that had helped Jak, Daxter, and company, were visible milling about in the space, with an army of the smaller types shifting around on their own business.

There was, in fact, another cavern like this one, even deeper and further back, which was where Frost had kept her and where he, himself, lived, and Seem intended to go there as her ride started to descend the natural bridge, though now covered by Metal-Head carapace, into the cavern. However, she noticed a gap in the closest mass of Metal-Heads as she reached the bottom, and recognized the cloaked figure that was leaning over something amidst the other Metal-Heads. Seem halted, and dismounted, her ride knowing well to stay where he was, and carefully approached. A wall of ape-like Metal-Heads prevented her at first, but they quickly parted, only a few even glancing at her.

Frost looked up at her as she approached on his right, and she saw that he was holding his claws to a leaper-Metal-Head’s injured leg. Dark energy was crackling around his hands and the length of the limb he was touching, but she saw that the leaper was unharmed, and remaining quite docile as it focused on her with mute curiosity. “Injured in that battle the other day. Last one,” Frost rasped calmly, and finally let go of the creature.

It hopped up, gave the leg a few testing steps, and then sprang off with its metallic hiss. The other Metal-Heads started to disperse, and Seem was left with their leader. She tilted her head curiously at first, but bowed it and let her right hand come forward with an intricate web of finger-gestures. “Greetings, Frost.”

He bowed back, keeping himself a safe distance still. “Ms. Monk. What brings you to this part of the wasteland? And only on your poor Leaper?” he asked the second question with mild humor in his sympathetic tone, gesturing back to her ride.

Seem glanced back to her traveling companion with a faint smile, and then focused back on Frost. “We know the desert well enough, but I appreciate your concern for us. I wished to greet you, simply. Forgive me if it is presumptuous, but I felt you might appreciate a reminder of your humanity.”

It was very difficult to read his reaction on his face. The mild humor of his previous comment remained, though subtler, but a deep current passed behind his glowing eyes. “Not presumptuous at all, Ms. Monk,” he finally said, his tone waxing wistful. “Would you like some food? Both of you, rather,” he corrected himself easily, glancing to the lizard.

“My companion could use water, if it is available, yes, please,” Seem responded respectfully.

Without hesitation, Frost glanced over his shoulder and raised one claw. At first, Seem was unsure exactly what he was doing, but then gave a gentle start when a Metalpede rumbled right up next to them at high speed. She was almost afraid it would crash into them both before it halted with surprising finesse for its girth, and lowered its head to Frost’s hand with a low moan, which trembled through Seem’s body like low thunder.

As he actually patted the creature’s head just over one eye, Frost gestured out to Seem’s leaper as he looked at her. “Have your friend hop on here with us. It will take us there safely and quickly. It’s a large cave, after all,” he managed some casual lightness with his warped voice, smoothly climbing up himself.

Hesitating a heart-beat, though Frost didn’t seem to notice, Seem turned back to her Leaper, and called to him in the low, lyrical tongue once more. He promptly trotted over, and hopped up onto the Metalpede lightly, gaining his balance and surer footing. Seem came up, and was about to climb over one leg for a boost, when a black claw loomed down in front of her face, open to her. Seem focused up into Frost’s glowing eyes beneath his hood, and saw a unique mixture of sorrow in his eyes and warmth in his faint smile.

Choosing smoothly, Seem smiled back in her sincere subtlety, and pressed her pale hand into his claw, gripping it firmly. He let his talons wrap around the back of her hand, only gripping with the pads of his onyx fingers, and smoothly pulled her up with him onto the Metalpede’s armored body. Seem sat down just behind Frost, and without a visible signal, the Metalpede took off, passing under the bridge with a smooth rush, and curving into the next tunnel, both fast and graceful in its ground-shuddering way.

Neither Frost nor Seem spoke on the short journey, and when the Metalpede stopped, Frost helped her down before she told her Leaper to hop down with them. Frost led them both up a small, curving path to the large platform where she’d woken up before their first meeting, and back to the ‘kitchen’. Once there, without a word, Frost filled a large bucket with fresh water from a hand-pump system at the back, and carried it to her Leaper. It dove in happily, gulping at the water.

Frost smiled at Seem, easing back to the opposite wall of the kitchen, across the central table from her. “I trust you are well? As well as possible considering the circumstances, at least.”

Seem nodded. “We have not seen any of the dark creatures since the battle, but it has only been a few days.” She noticed that Frost absent-mindedly reached one hand to his chest, as if touching something beneath his cloak. “…Is something wrong for you, however?”

His hand snapped down, and he renewed his focus on her. At first he was going to speak, but shut his mouth and looked aside gravely for a moment. Finally, he looked to her, and said, “I have felt something since that battle. Or… it has become more obvious to me than before…”

Understandably worried, Seem remained curious. “How do you mean?”

His hand snaked up to his chest again as he stared off. “It’s like… something pulling on me. Those creatures made it more obvious to me, but it has been there since…” He looked down at his hands, lifting the one away from his front. Then he turned his eyes up to Seem again. “Those creatures were absorbing my power, but I was using enough raw force to destroy them anyway. I felt… connected to them somehow.”

Seem had difficulty explaining why her heart fell _so_ far at hearing it. She was almost crushed as she stood in front of him. “…Do you know where they came from…?”

His expression etched with confusion for a split-second, and then alarm. “No! No, no! I did not create those creatures!” His hands were out, and his entirely sincere shock convinced her almost instantly.

“I apologize,” Seem whispered, holding a hand to her own chest as she bowed her head with relief.

Frost looked down himself. “It was understandable… I do believe Dark Eco was related to their creation, though.”

“I see, but… that was cruel of me, to assume so easily after all you’ve done.” Seem looked across at him sincerely.

The former guard looked into her guilty, glistening eyes, his expression softening the longer he did so. “I believe it was right of you… to be cautious in that way.” He abruptly found the table interesting, his eye-ridges raised.

Seem’s Leaper chirped, sitting by happily after finishing his drink, and distracting from the strange tension that had filled the small cave. The monk found herself snapping her attention to her traveling companion, and back to Frost at a loss for response herself. The Metal-Head leader seemed quite distracted, looking around, at her Leaper, his claws almost twitching. He looked back at Seem, and started to say something, but his voice just trailed off, his mouth hanging open for a moment. Finally he managed, “Y-you… your order of monks. What are some of your practices?”

The abruptness of the question gave her pause, but she settled into a familiar frame of mind, and replied with her usual calmness and control. “Frequent, daily meditation is our primary form of practice. We also assist those in need, and attempt to gather Precursor artifacts to preserve them from marauders or less… admirable persons, who would use them for inappropriate means.”

Frost nodded. “I see. So it is your entire life, to serve the Precursors in this way, yes?”

This time Seem’s mood shifted, her head tilting a bit, and her eyes tightening with curiosity. “Yes. Why do you ask in this way?”

His jaw clamped shut and he dipped his head down, looking down and around. Seem was confused, because he almost seemed embarrassed, as if his cheeks would be blushing if not completely glistening black.

Her eyes widened and he jerked as energy snapped off his hands, crackling along the walls and ground. Her leaper screeched, hopping away though it never came close to him, and Frost finally snapped his fists shut, holding them rigidly up near his head as the energy calmed into nothing. Firm aggravation was visible on his tightened face, his lips pressed into a firm line. “I’m sorry… about that…” He slowly opened his hands, lowering his arms.

Seem stepped just around the end of the table, her hand up toward him. “Why did my asking affect you so? Is something else wrong?”

She did not expect his next reaction, which was an almost pained laugh as he looked down from her with closed eyes.

“I apologize, I’m really… not laughing at you, I’m sorry,” he managed, finally just taking a claw over his mouth for a moment, looking into nothing with a strange mirth.

Calming back to curiosity, Seem persisted. “Then why do you?”

“The absurdity of my situation just became rather stark in my eyes. Please forgive me, but I can’t really answer your first question,” he explained calmly, managing a smile for her.

“And why can you not answer?” She sensed something about the issue was much deeper than a mild embarrassment. She wanted to help him, if possible.

“My reasons for asking you were inappropriate, and it’s none of my business anyway,” he answered as calm as she’d ever seen him, but she glanced down at his clenched fists.

She was sincerely puzzled. “How could your reasons be inappropriate?”

His eyes slowly shut as he exhaled, and she realized he was about to explain anyway. “I was asking if you were celibate, Ms. Monk. That’s none of my business.”

She didn’t quite realize his point immediately, but her confusion abruptly fractured into a startled form of disbelief as she stared at him. “…I beg your pardon?” was all she could think to utter in response. A faint pinkness was appearing through her face-paint.

Frost’s expression, his eyes still closed, became a very sincerely pained one. “I am very sorry. It was totally uncalled for.”

Her disbelief only intensified as she realized she had, indeed, not been mistaken. “I-it does not offend me… It simply has not… been brought up in that manner for me before. I am devoted to the Precursors. I could not properly live as a monk and be a wife at the same time.”

She jumped and he gasped as his right arm almost exploded with energy. He was gripping it firmly with his other hand, and curling it up near his head in an instant, his entire body shuddering with the effort to still the raging energies he’d accidentally unleashed. At last, it stopped, and he sagged with relief.

“My… apologies, Ms. Monk. I greatly respect your choices, and admire you for them,” he managed, still leaning heavily against the wall, away from her. “Your frankness and sincerity are appreciated. I am quite sorry for my own manner. I would never presume, even if you were not fully devoted to the Precursors, that I would be a viable choice for you, but my stupidity got the better of me, and my curiosity wouldn’t let it go.”

Even though she was listening to him, seeing him curled over himself, shivering against the wall, was causing empathy and guilt (for being part of what caused it) to swell up in her heart. So, after he finished, and was still shaking, she hurried closer to him, kneeling down at his side. “It is a small matter, but you are in pain. Can I not assist you?”

As unstable as he was in that moment, her voice cut through his clouded mind like soothing ointment on a stinging wound. His eyes closed, and he slowly exhaled. “…Your compassion does you credit, but I would truly be helped if you stayed away from me. Harming you, however accidentally, would… I wouldn’t get over it very soon.”

Pained for him, she did rise, and moved back. After a few minutes, his breathing slowed to a more stable rhythm, and he stood straight, taking a moment to fully calm down, and finally faced her again. “Thank you for your kindness, Seem,” he said quite sincerely, smiling gently around his rasping, darkened voice.

Hiding her sadness in a calm smile, the monk bowed, and gestured toward him. Privately she made her prayer one for assistance on his behalf, knowing he would not understand her gestures or words. “Your hospitality has been most helpful as well. I am glad I could see you today.” She saw his eyes shiver silently with emotion, and was beginning to realize how much her visit had actually affected him.

“I was very glad to receive you, Ms. Monk. Do you need help with transportation?”

“Thank you, no. We will be fine on our way out. I must get back to the temple before evening, but the journey is helpful for contemplation.”

Frost bowed gently. “Then please be safe.”

Seem called her Leaper to her hand, gripping the reins gently, and looked back to him with another calm smile. “We will do our best, thank you. Farewell, Frost.”

“Farewell, Ms. Monk.”

He waited silently for them to vanish into the shadows in the tunnel exit from the kitchen, and let his expression sink into a sorrowful stare through the floor. _I doubt she’ll ever come back…_ He then simply walked over, picked up the empty water-bucket, and placed it at the back of the room before leaving himself with a gentle flutter of his cloak.

* * *

Spargus city ran right down to the coast, beyond the cliffs that protected it from the sands, to the rolling ocean below. A tall spire led up from near the center of the half of the city near the coast, and on top of it was a large, double-barreled gun-turret. Jak was sitting at its controls, Daxter grinning on his shoulder, and Tess standing down on the landing, watching intently as Jak quickly swiveled the gun and fired at flying discs rising out of the water. He was already the best gunner in Spargus, but Kleiver had gotten a little too close to his record since he last set it, so he was looking to push it well out of the old Wastelander’s reach.

“Wow, Jak,” Tess muttered, “and I thought you were just good with your morph-gun…”

The hero chuckled as he twisted the turret to the right, pegging four green discs before they could start falling again. “Just practice, Tess. Your shooting on the back of the Gila Stomper was right up there, too.”

She giggled, and Daxter quickly glanced from her to his friend and back. “Yeah! And—uh… you look good doing it!”

Waiting for another shot before responding, Tess grinned up at her dear Ottsel. “You’re so _sweet_ , Daxter!”

Jak just smirked as he pegged some more targets.

And then a communicator popped up beside him, floating just on his right. Samos’ voice came over, sounding rather flustered. “Jak! Where—What _are_ you doing with all that racket?”

Jak shut the turret off and hopped down with a smile, but kept himself focused. “Nothing, Samos. You have anything for me?” Daxter and Tess were listening intently themselves.

Samos’ voice continued. “As a matter of fact, yes. Onin has become aware of another Precursor device that should be located in an old spot favored by Mar for contemplation out in the desert.”

Jak frowned thoughtfully. “There’s more than one… should I just start—” his old mentor cut him off.

“No, no. We know where it is. The oasis should be the spot. Unfortunately, we have reason to believe its _underneath_ it. Something about ‘passing beyond the oasis’.”

Daxter rolled his eyes. “You want us to drain the only water-hole in the entire flippin’ desert!?”

Samos retorted dryly, “It’s less than half a kilometer from the ocean, Daxter…”

“I don’t care!” the furry one snapped in a huff, crossing his arms as he stood on Jak’s shoulder, and staring off.

Jak sighed. “I’ll go check it out Samos. I’ll let you know when I get there.”

“That’s my boy. Good hunting!” And the communicator shrank out of view.

Tess set her hands on her hips. “What do you want me to do?”

Jak paused, blinking down at her, and looked to Daxter, who shared his almost fearful uncertainty. Neither of them wanted to be on Tess’ bad side, however rarely it came out. Jak shrugged. “Uh… well, Tess… We should be able to handle this one, but you could… beat my turret record in the mean time?” He gestured back at the large cannons.

Tess grinned. “Alright! You take care of my Daxter… Or I’ll hunt you down and cram your morph-gun in whatever place is the most painful…”

Daxter and Jak both twitched a bit, and watched her scramble up into the control chair. Jak gave his friend a dry look, and the ottsel folded over meekly. “…She’s… quite a gal… really…”

Jak just shook his head, and climbed down the ladder. Finding a spare leaper-lizard standing by, he hopped on, and rode the creature quickly across the desert city, around the adobe towers and ledges that made it up. Soon, he was at the garage, and hopped off with Daxter on his shoulder. Taking the large, Dune-Hopper vehicle, designed for jumping with its independent ‘legs’ for each wheel, he sped out into the desert, driving for the oasis.

* * *

Lying on her back, her body perfectly straight, her hands loosely clasped over her stomach, Seem stared at the rocky surface above her sleeping matt in the alcove in her chamber. Remaining in her full attire, she was gazing through the hard ceiling, her expression etched with gravity.

She knew her instincts about Frost had been true. He was so starved for human interaction, inundated with Dark Eco and Metal-Heads as he was, that he had invested extremely powerful emotions in her. It pained her, and worse, tempted her. She refused to allow his truly virtuous character to be used by her mind to corrupt whatever virtue she herself had. The man was desperately lonely, but he understood his own situation as well as she did. Seem knew why he’d started laughing. He’d been painfully amused at his own emotional dependence.

It had been a lapse on his part, yes, but in a way she felt it demonstrated his strength as well. He remained quite honest with himself, and even when she came close in concern, he sincerely wished for her own benefit, not his. It troubled her in so many ways, that an obviously good man would be forced to endure so much, so constantly, with no clear hope of recovery.

Seem’s crimson eyes snapped to reality, focusing on her door as it knocked. She flowed off her bed, and pulled the humble, wooden door open to see one of her monks. “What is it?” she asked with equanimity.

The, also female, monk had her bleached-white hair tied up in a tall bun on her head, but her usually stony eyes were wide with alarm. “Some of the others… they have had premonitions just now. A violent darkness…”

Seem’s brow creased with immediate concern, but before she could even respond, a scream sounded from down the hall. She rushed out into the hall proper with her companion, and saw a handful of other monks scrambling toward her, one falling over and clawing at the ground before getting back on his feet as three Prowlers leapt into view from the right fork in the hall… from the main entrance.

And now that she was not lost in her reverie of concern for Frost, Seem almost felt her heart crushed with the weight of the darkness closing in on the temple. _I blinded myself… Makers forgive me…_ “Run! To the leaper stable!” she shouted firmly, and looked to her nearest companion. “Go!” she emphasized with a sharp push when the other monk was too stupefied by the on-coming Prowlers to move with the others.

Seem lingered just enough to help the last monk stay on his feet, and ran for her life as well. They followed the large, pale brown stone hall for several meters, where it hooked to the right, and kept running, Seem glancing back to see that the Prowlers were just coming after them at a brisk walk with their long strides, walking upright. She knew something was wrong, but couldn’t think of anything better to do.

When the leaders of the small group twisted to a right-fork only to skid and reel back, Seem’s heart sank. “Just run!” she shouted, pushing the closest monk firmly. She was just past the fork herself when the four Prowlers walking down its length reached the hall they were using as well, and the monks kept running.

“There are no exits this way!” the monk nearest her exclaimed in dismay.

Seem didn’t hesitate, she knew it as well. “But the thickest doors are. We can’t escape past those creatures.”

“The meditation chamber?” one of the leading monks, in fact the very one who had knocked on Seem’s door moments ago, called back in confirmation.

“Yes! Prepare to bar the doors when the last of us are through, if possible. Don’t hesitate if you can save more!” Seem shouted firmly ahead.

Rushing down the main hall as it bent left and right, the leading five monks finally rushed past a set of open, monolithic wooden doors just inside the entrance to a large, open room with no wall on the left, and no ceiling, but a grand, ancient altar of sorts against the back, with a water-fountain and pedestal. The leading monks rushed to either side, getting behind the huge doors, and let their fellows flee into the last bastion of safety. Seem passed through last, and helping to yank the right-side door closed. Just as the Prowlers were clearly in view down the hall, the doors slammed shut with a cacophonous boom, and the monks worked busily to seal it with wooden beams.

Some of them sagged against the doors, only to leap back as they shuddered from violent blows on the other side. Seem gravely watched the doors shiver, and then walked into the center of the open room, pulling the second signal device Frost had given her out. “We can only wait, whatever may come. Meditate if you must, but remain strong.” She raised the device above her head, and pulled the small lever down, the sides compressing beneath her pale palms. The dark eco signal streaked high into the air, and exploded as the previous had. Seem lowered the device quietly, staring down into nothing as her monks lingered around her anxiously. They drew strength from her example, but they did not realize how much fear she was hiding.

Finally, her eyes shut, and she clutched the useless little signal device to her front, scraping faintly against the armor. _Please assist us… Please…_ But then she calmed her expression, and looked up at her fellow monks. “Calm yourselves… meditate. We can do no more now.” And she was the first to sit down, straighten her posture, and close her eyes, but she listened as they did so after her. Amidst the pounding of the doors, they removed their minds from their danger… and waited.

* * *

The pale Dune-Hopper sprang over the sand ridge from the dune valleys of the deep desert, near the coast, and skidded down the long descent to a sharp but clean stop just near the large pool of water in the base of the Southern cliffs. Jak hopped out, Daxter on his shoulder, and hurried up to the water’s edge, looking at the rocks around, beneath, and behind the pool. His brow creased finally. “I was hoping I’d just been missing something, but… I really don’t see any signs of Precursor technology.”

Daxter rolled his eyes. “Like I’m surprised. Wouldn’t be the first time Samos led us on a wild goose chase.”

Jak just looked at him.

“…Okay so it would, but you know what I mean!”

The taller of the pair shook his head, and the communicator popped out, floating around him. “Samos, it’s me. We’re at the oasis, but all I see is rocks.”

Replying in his gravelly, ill-tempered manner, Samos said, “Well of course you do, because when the Precursors hide something, they do a little more than sweep it under a rug like Daxter.”

“Hey!”

The voice from the floating gizmo continued. “Anyway, from what Onin and I can gather, it seems that the location was a gift to Mar from the Precursors themselves. A private place to contemplate and, if needed, contact them. It supposedly only opened for Mar himself, but…”

“My father named me Mar…” Jak trailed off with a slow nod. “Let’s see if I can do this, Dax.”

Daxter just slumped down on his friend’s shoulder. “Seriously, pal. I’ve seen you work some crazy mojo, but thinking you’re the original _Mar_ is pushing it! Even for you!”

“Trust me, Dax, I’d rather not be the king that everyone thinks built the world as we know it, but maybe if I _am_ his descendent, this thing will work for me.” Jak was already wading into the water.

Daxter moaned, but hopped onto his friend’s head to avoid getting too wet just yet. Jak waded further out, finally up to his shoulders and keeping himself afloat. He looked around, but he saw no indication of what he could do. Daxter looked over his face and into his eyes dryly, and Jak raised his eyebrows, shrugging. Finally, the green-blonde hero looked straight ahead, and loudly called, “I want to speak with the Precursors!”

They waited…

“Bupkis,” Daxter muttered. “Got any more bright ideas?”

Jak looked off with irritation for a moment, quite aware that he was soaking wet and Daxter was using him as a glorified buoy. Focusing down below his feet in the water, he frowned. “Seriously… if he just came here for peace and quiet, why is it so—!”

Daxter yelped, splashing back into the water, and Jak swam back rapidly as the cliffs above and behind the oasis gave a loud boom, and started to split along the natural lines of the rocks, following the center loosely. The tall, flat sections of the cliff shifted aside, and revealed a tall, vaulted antechamber, obviously crafted by Precursors, with a circular platform, padded, in the center, and a curious device waiting at the back.

Back on Jak’s shoulder, Daxter watched his friend climb up onto the dry metal, and walk around to the back of the chamber. Floating in the midst of four points from sloping extensions of metal from the floor, was a glowing, gently rotating, cube. It was made of the pale brown, Precursor metal, but had a perfect circle missing from each side, which glowed with bright, luminous power.

“So, uh… why’d it open?” Daxter finally muttered, quiet in case something else reacted… badly.

Jak shrugged, looking to his friend, and then crouched down in front of the glowing cube. “I wonder if this is it?”

Something was behind them. Jak felt it in an instant. Daxter wailed as his friend snapped upright and around, his blaster-mode morph-gun aiming straight out, across the water the next instant, his eyes tight and focused.

Daxter crawled back onto his shoulder. “What did you do _that_ for!?” He didn’t bother demanding an answer again as his blue-tinted eyes widened toward the desert.

A small army of Prowlers were lingering at the shore-line of the oasis, their tails coiling as they each slowly shifted, just watching for the moment. Panning his gaze across the ominous sight, Jak spoke sharply to his friend beneath his breath. “Dax, grab the cube, and then hang onto me.”

Leaping off Jak’s shoulder, Daxter landed _on_ the cube. It supported his weight loosely, and he stepped onto one of the, apparently decorative, spikes around it, pulling it out of the center. He finally felt its weight in his hands, and leapt onto Jak, stuffing the device into his friend’s back-pack, beneath the jet-board and morph-gun holster. Jak suddenly put his gun away, and looked up, his hands out to the sides. The moment his eyes closed, light engulfed his body, and the wings of light sprouted off his back, an aura of pure power evanescing over his form.

Blazing white pools opened, and focused contently down on the dark wraiths ahead. Daxter was just smiling confidently. “Oh yeah, we bad.” Looking at his friend, he blinked, “Or whatever.”

Light Jak actually smiled gently, and then sprang into flight. The Prowlers weren’t foolish, they shot away from him, letting him land on open sand, but they quickly surrounded him, cutting him off from the Dune-Hopper. Light Jak calmly settled into a fighting stance, knowing the creatures could not stand against him.

His brow creased, however, and he turned, looking up above the revealed chamber… to see Jalnoth. The massive Prowler had a dark gem in his chest, and the crimson eyes focused with far too much intelligence for either of the pair’s liking.

“I see now how you protected this world so well, hero,” Jalnoth’s voice thundered with malefic power.

Jak’s voice was both gentle and powerful, filling the air with no effort. The Prowlers curled down low, obviously agitated by it. “Then it is you who control these dark creatures?”

“For now,” Jalnoth confirmed with a faint nod of his elongated head. “For all your power, you are not immortal.” He raised his right claw high, stretching his legs confidently to near his full, commanding height, and began to smoothly revolve his claw through the air

Jak tensed back, expecting an attack as his shield of blue light burst to life around him, but something else happened. He quickly looked around as the sands from the cliffs to the ocean, wrapping back around behind him, exploded into a sand-hurricane, following the gesture of Jalnoth’s claw.

The war-master crouched back down, one claw grinding into the rocks there. “Even you would be torn to dust by these sands, light warrior.” He extended his free claw. “Give me the device, and I will allow you to go. Refuse, and I will keep you here until you die from heat, exhaustion, or both.”

“I have my own defenses. This storm will not stop me.”

Jalnoth just pointed down at him with a twitch of his claw, and another dozen Prowlers leapt down into view around him. “You can try.”

Jak suddenly dropped down, and slammed his hands together above his head. His time-freeze engulfed reality around him, and he took flight toward Jalnoth. If he could end this threat now…

But the war-master warped into a dark cloud even as he flew through the time-freeze, and scattered down the cliffs.

Jak landed, the time-freeze ending, and looked down at Jalnoth as he reformed out of his wraith manifestation. And more Prowlers were crawling down the rocks behind Jak. “You can’t maintain your light form forever, and the storm remains as long as I do. You have no where to run… hero.”

The glowing white eyes tightened.

* * *

Ashelin ran up to the holo-table in the Freedom League fortress, slamming a large button down to activate the comm-system. Samos, Onin with Pecker, Torn, and Keira were there, the mechanic just hurrying up herself. “It’s Ashelin, talk to me Jak!”

The altered, luminous voice of his light form came over the line. “We have found a device, but the dark creatures and their apparent leader are preventing me from escaping. It has created a storm around us, and I am running out of time.” He didn’t sound panicked in the slightest, but only grave. Indeed, he sounded almost like Seem.

“If you don’t get it yet, _save US!_ ” Daxter’s familiar screech followed immediately.

Ashelin looked at the holo-map of the desert, and her expression fell. “J-Jak… nothing we have can fly through that storm…”

Jak only exhaled. “We will do our best.”

Keira suddenly lunged over the table, almost knocking Torn and Ashelin back. “Hold on, Jak! I’m coming!” And she ran for the door.

Everyone stared at her as she ran, Ashelin calling, “You can’t go alone, Keira!”

The young woman just turned around as the lift started to activate, her expression blazing with intensity. “I’m not abandoning him again.” The doors shut.

The others were struck silent, even Onin’s hands still, but Samos looked on with worry. “…Keira…”


	8. Dark Reflections

Light Jak shot off the cliffs, spreading his wings, and dove at the sand beneath Jalnoth. The war-master was out of his path long before he hit, but Jak hadn’t really intended to hit him. Instead, when the Prowlers leapt at him, his shield flared, blasting several of them out of existence, creating a cloud of black liquid and dust for a moment. Jalnoth heard the explosive pulse of the time-freeze, and only watched as several more Prowlers were vaporized amid brief glimpses of a luminous body.

Just as Jak came out of the second freeze, he grunted, flying back into the water with an explosive crash, Daxter finally flipping off with his own entrance into the water. Jalnoth rose upright from delivering a punch, and calmly let his tail lash on the sand, almost like a contented cat. “I am not so weak to your power as my minions, hero. Tire yourself with them, by all means.”

The Prowlers on the cliffs and surrounding sands suddenly charged en masse. Light Jak used his wings through the water to blast himself to Daxter, and then shoot out of the oasis, slamming into Prowlers with his feet and free arm while his friend sputtered in recovery. He flipped down into a hard landing, only to barely dodge a whip-lash of Jalnoth’s tail by leaping backward. Already unstable, he grunted as a suicidal Prowler tackled him, impacting and dispersing. Finally, he summoned his shield again, and looked gravely up at Jalnoth while the Prowlers circled. A few more were crawling down the cliffs as well. It didn’t seem this battle was going to end any time soon, and Jak was already feeling the strain. Even his Light form was showing fatigue as Daxter looked up at his transformed friend warily. “Jak…?”

“Just hold on, Daxter…” And, taking his friend up, he shot off with a blast of his wings and explosion of sand.

* * *

Another thunderous boom sounded from the shuddering doors in the Precursor temple. Panels of the monolithic wood opening were splintering already, and the locking blocks were fairing no better. Several monks were only pretending to meditate, far too terrified to truly focus. Seem, herself, was having a hard time controlling her anxiety, but was indeed far away from her body, examining the nature of the darkness trying to enter their sanctuary.

 _Boom_.

She had to learn something, if only she could. It was so cold, so empty of emotion, of connection to the world. So empty of _life_ … yet it whispered.

 _Boom_.

It rushed upon Seem like a torrent of freezing water. She actually shuddered, curling over with a gasp of shock, her eyes flaring open. It was here. The darkness from the desert. “…No,” she breathed, despair finally starting to sink frigid fangs into her heart.

“What is it, my lady?” the monk who had called her out of her room before the attack had begun asked, fearful but attentive.

Seem looked over to the other monk, on her left, with empty eyes and a slack expression. Part of her mind hated herself for being so weak, for setting such a horrible example to the younger monk, but it was just too much. The power was so overwhelming, so _destructive_ , and it was just outside, almost at the door! She saw the other monk finally fall into the same fear already gripping the others, realizing that only a truly horrible fate could cause such a despair in her teacher.

“I’m sorry,” was all Seem could think to say, barely above a whisper, lost to another room-shaking crash against the doors, but the younger monk saw her lips move… and smiled back.

Seem’s face shifted with astonishment… just before the doors all but exploded off their frames, flying open into the room. She was thrown forward herself, the other monks flung away from the opening, a few almost slipping off the edge on the left side of the room as the dark creatures entered.

A Prowler for each monk swarmed inside with wraith-like precision, little more than shadows before appearing with each one, restraining them… but not harming them. Seem saw it as she turned onto her back, near the pedestal at the back of the chamber. Her eyes soon focused past her fellow monks, to the center of the doorway.

Floating amid arcs and splintering snaps of Dark Eco energy, the air beneath her limp legs violently distorted, was Maia. With her head tilted forward in a baleful manner, she smiled too sincerely, and began to move forward, her hands open upward, held low at her sides. With her glowing eyes focused on Seem, Maia ignored the rest of the room, drifting right up to the pale, armor-clad monk’s feet. Seem actually cut off a yelp as one arc of energy snapped at her foot, causing her to yank both legs closer to herself, and focus up at Maia with gritted teeth as she held the injured extremity.

As if that was exactly what she was waiting for, Maia let herself land, the energy calming, and leaned down at Seem. “Mmm, I’ve been _so_ looking forward to meeting you, girl. I understand you are all monks? For the Precursors?” Her tone was so light and conversational after her seductive start that Seem was even more disturbed for the contrast.

Unsure how to respond, Seem finally managed, “Yes… we respect the Makers and protect their secrets from… those who would misuse them.”

“Referring to _me_ ,” Maia said with a great deal of relish.

Seem’s jaw clenched. Maia reeled back with laughter, letting her hands up as energy crackled and burst off them, splintering into the floor and shattering tiles without any real effort. “The mighty Precursors! …Relying on little boys and girls in face-paint and rubber to protect their ever-so-powerful secrets,” she finished in an almost motherly tone, looking down at Seem in a manner most patronizing.

Seem’s firm dislike was replaced with startled alarm as Maia shot over her, one, ice-cold, crystal-smooth hand clamping around her narrow neck. The monk couldn’t breathe, and grasped the wrist, clawing at the shoulder of the arm restraining her. Maia was almost animalistic in her intensity as she rasped into the young woman’s face. “I don’t care what kind of useless _junk_ you protect, sand-rat. The dark one, that warrior who controls the metal animals, he is connected to you. Is this not so?”

Seem’s eyes flared with more urgent alarm beyond her fear of strangulation. “N-no…!” she wheezed out. “H-he… is… not known… to… m…” she was actually starting to black out… and then the grip eased. She gasped, inhaling as if just freeing herself from a deep dive in the ocean.

Maia’s evil smile returned, her glowing eyes almost blinding Seem for their proximity. “I know you’re lying, little girl,” she almost sang. “I also felt you give another signal like that one in the desert battle.”

Seem’s heart sank even further through her stomach, which she’d not thought possible. “W-wait, he only—!” she was cut off.

Maia snapped her free hand backward, and leaned away from Seem. It allowed the young woman to watch the other Prowlers grab the other monks by the neck, keeping them painfully restrained by one arm with the other claw, or simply lifted off the ground by the grip on their neck. Maia then leaned back into Seem’s face. “You will beg this warrior to serve me, or your monks start dying… Starting with _her_!”

Seem’s eyes snapped to the monk who had smiled at her just moments ago, the Prowler lifting her small feet right off the ground while squeezing her neck. The younger monk gurgled horribly, gripping the claw starting to crush her neck, but looked over at Seem with her rapidly watering eyes. “ _D-don’t…_ ” she rasped, “ _It is… not your… fault…_ ”

Tears were forming in Seem’s blazing, crimson eyes, her mouth falling open. She looked back to Maia, frozen. The dark woman only smiled back. “Oh yes, very noble and brave of her, but you are responsible for her, aren’t you? It is your _job_ to keep all of these _innocent_ people alive!”

“P-Please… You have me, l-let—agh!” Seem yelped, her hand snapping out to the other monk as the Prowler raised her higher, and squeezed hard enough to make the younger monk’s eyes flare with panic, no air moving from her wide mouth at all, her feet scrambling horribly in wild hope of freeing herself.

Maia whispered, “You’re wasting her life…”

“ _Wait_! Wait, I beg you!” Seem shouted desperately.

Maia nodded, the Prowler easing enough on the younger monk to let her gasp for air, panting.

Seem focused on Maia with a deep-rooted mixture of sorrow, outrage, and guilt.

But a bright purple glow filled the room, just before a snapping burst and thundering rush. Maia growled in aggravation, Seem feeling herself free of the crushing grip on her neck, and fell back enough to see that the Prowlers had been thrown across to the far wall, most of them already dispersing into nothing, all of the monks free on the ground, some just getting up from their abrupt rescue.

And standing on the ledge, his cloak lashing in the high winds, was the hooded figure of Frost, his red eyes blazing with dark rage beneath his skull-gem, his onyx face bowed in a haunting reminder of Maia’s own entrance. “None of these monks die today,” his already distorted voice thundered even more inhumanly, energy rolling down his limbs and crackling off his claws.

Maia eyed him with intrigue, an eye-ridge raised. She flashed a smile, and the remaining Prowlers leapt straight for him. Seem watched Frost shoot off the ground to meet them, roaring and unleashing his power, resulting in a stream of dark lightning in his own wake. He flew like an animal, all of his limbs pulling back to snap inward, leaving his front completely open, and his sharpened, glistening teeth exposed by a full-mouth roar.

“Oh, I _do_ like him…” Maia muttered with very sincere admiration as he slammed into the four Prowlers.

It was over with explosive speed. All four Prowlers went flying in different directions, streaming like comets with tails of purple-red lightning from a cloud-like sphere of the same energy. They exploded against the walls, and Frost dropped to a crouch, one claw to the ground, his hood down and his eyes locked on Maia.

In the next instant, while smiling at him, Maia flickered. Frost seemed to realize what was happening before Seem herself did, as she saw him focus on her in urgent alarm, and only then did she feel the crushing grip explode around her neck again. This time she was yanked off the ground, choking painfully, and pulled back through the air, facing Frost while dangling from her own neck. As Seem cringed in pain, clawing at the cold hand gripping her and kicking her legs, Maia smiled past the monk at Frost. “If _anyone_ moves, she dies.”

All of the monks froze where they were, focusing on Maia in renewed fear. Frost was almost a freeze-frame himself, even the energy on his body slowing to a stop before vanishing. Seem could see his face, and the horrified guilt etching across it only made her empathize with him even more. She could see how much any harm coming to her would hurt him.

“…What do you want with these monks?” Frost finally asked, his voice back to its normal degree of ethereal rasping.

Maia couldn’t resist a laugh. “Nothing at all, actually. I want _you_.”

Confusion clouded his expression instantly. “…Want me…?”

“Tell me your name.”

When he didn’t answer immediately, she squeezed, and Seem gagged.

“Frost!” he snapped, his hands jerking forward. “Don’t hurt her! I was… just…” he didn’t bother finishing.

“Frost, you said?” Maia confirmed, amused as she tilted her head down, raising an eye-ridge.

“Yes… my name is Frost…”

She continued to smile. “You may call me Maia…” She savored the moment, and continued, “Look at us, Frost. We are very similar, you and I.”

Seem saw his eyes sink balefully.

“You have immense power at your… talon-tips. An army, no less. Join me, help my new friends take over this world… and I can probably persuade them to let you keep this girl and her friends as… pets, perhaps?”

Never thinking Frost would consider the idea, Seem only glanced aside with a darkened expression of her own.

Indeed, Frost’s response was instant. “Save her, only to destroy everything to which she’s devoted her very existence? I wouldn’t be saving her life, I’d just be ending it differently.”

Maia squeezed. “I don’t like your tone, Frost.”

Seem tried to avoid gurgling, but choked anyway. Frost immediately raised his hands. “W-wait! WAIT! I apologize… Look you… You have Seem. You know I won’t do anything while you do… let the others go… Please…”

Fortunately, Maia eased her grip enough for Seem to give Frost a look in the eyes. He tightened his own as he saw the deeply sincere gratitude in her expression. She even mouthed, “Thank you.” He just shook his head faintly, sorrow starting to crawl over his face as he looked down.

Maia smirked. “How right you are. Mm, it simplifies the situation anyway. The rest of you may go. NOW!”

They started running as she crackled energy from her free hand, but one hesitated. The same monk who had been at Seem’s side the whole time. She locked gazed with her mentor, only to have her mouth, “Go!” emphatically. The sorrow in Seem’s eyes said much more, even so, and the girl ran out of the room, controlling her tears.

Maia focused back on Frost, who wasn’t easing very much at all. “You are far too attached to this girl to be as cool to her death as you seem, Frost. You are tempted by my offer… you could treat her nobly, of course, even if the Darken thought of her as a ‘pet’.”

His jaw clenched, energy crackling around his fists before he could calm it away. “Yes, I am tempted. Anyone would be. I know she would hate me, rightfully, if I did what you ask, and so it would do _me_ no good to go along with your deal. If you harm her, I will hunt you down until I am also dead.”

Her body was becoming quite pained from her awkward position, but Seem was still sympathetic as she heard Frost explain himself. Maia only laughed again. “Ruthless, Frost, absolutely ruthless. We could work so well together!” She pulled her other hand out, and a black gem formed in her palm, like the one embedded in her own chest. “Just imagine it, Frost… commanding an army of Prowlers and your metal animals. You could do anything.”

“Except what matters,” Frost retorted flatly. “You are only offering me death, Maia. It’s not an enticing deal.”

Finally, the woman seemed annoyed, floating while she held Seem by the neck as she was. “Then I will _kill_ her!” She squeezed firmly, Seem choking until no more air would move, in or out, her body thrashing with instinctive panic.

“Stop! STOP!” Frost screamed desperately.

Both Maia and Seem, who could breathe again, panting, focused on the terrified, heart-broken expression on his face, his glowing eyes wide with desperation, his mouth hanging. Seem met his eyes, her own tightening as she saw the growing guilt in his. Frost finally slumped down, onto all fours. “…I will do what you ask… do not hurt her…”

“No, Frost!” Seem gasped, and dropped, crashing to all-fours herself. “No!” she shouted, but Maia rushed down to Frost, crouching with him herself.

“That’s my boy…” she tilted his head up with a finger under his chin, holding the gem in her left hand. “In time… you may come to like it anyway… I find it… intoxicating, personally.”

“No, Frost! I do not fear death! But if you join her, our friends… Please!” Seem shouted, starting to run toward them before a shield of dark energy appeared in front of her, blocking her approach.

Frost’s eyes squeezed shut, and he heard Maia’s faint chuckle.

Maia’s eyes flared when his right claw shot up, clamping around her left wrist like a vice, and his eyes snapped open, remaining narrow with malefic rage. “You’re right,” he rasped quietly. “We are alike.”

His right claw clenched with violently force, energy exploding off of it and his whole body while he roared, driving his left claw into her chest, around the black gem embedded in it. Maia screamed in true pain, and then roared with her own deep-seeded rage, energy rolling off of her as she rammed her right hand into his stomach, unleashing a beam-blast of dark energy.

Frost jerked back, his lower body almost vanishing inside the beam, but he held on like a rabid dog, roaring as much as dark lightning stormed around them both. Maia simply grabbed his neck at last, and started unleashing her own storm of dark power, the two all but invisible within the fracturing, thunderous display. Seem fell back in startled awe, watching the two shiver with animalistic rage as they remained locked in each other’s grasp.

Frost was the first to use his legs, wrenching them both into the back wall with an explosive crash and shock-wave of energy. The pedestal somehow survived, but Maia flew back into the air with him, twirling rapidly and slamming down into the floor again, Frost’s back leading. He slammed her down into the ground on his right, toward the ledge, and then rammed both feet into her stomach. All the while they crackled and flared with dark power, Maia finally skidding off, almost sliding off the edge. She rose up, only to flare her eyes as Frost body-slammed her out into the open air with an air-shuddering roar and fresh explosion of energy from his body.

Seem ran up to the ledge, her shoes grinding to a halt as she looked down. The two were swinging around each other, arms locked, crashing off the temple’s outer wall as each could muster the force to ram the other. Seeing that they would probably hit the ground… hard, Seem ran back into the temple proper.

Frost was rammed into the wall last, energy crackling off the crater his back made, only to have Maia swing him down into the ground next. He grunted as his body slammed flat, and she hopped up, only to come crashing down into his stomach with her feet. She used so much force and energy that a shock-wave burst outward, her senses stretching as the ground caved in around the former commander.

Maia laughed, stepped off, and yanked him out of the crater, throwing him back into the wall of the temple. “You’re too dangerous to leave alive to contest me, Frost. Have it your way. I’ll deal with your little monk friend after I’m through with you.” Frost exploded into the wall, hanging limply, as if already unconscious. “Oh, don’t worry. I’ll make her scream your name for you to hear in whatever kind of hell you wake up in.” She threw a punch, energy rushing down her right arm… only to have it halt upon meeting his open right hand.

Maia grimaced as her fist was slowly crushed, his eyes peeling open, energy snapping down his cheeks like dark tears. “I think I’ll make you scream instead.” He roared, rushing out of the wall, and put his entire body into the vicious, ramming punch he delivered to her head with his left hand, pulling her into it by her own fist.

A shock-wave exploded vertically as his senses lengthened, the ground caving in and fragmenting as the wave hit it, the purple energy as it zoomed out, and Maia’s body convulsing back through the air, rocketing back as the force undulated down to her feet through her body while she started to twist off to his right. Dark-lightning streamed after her from his fist, and she simply flew off as his senses returned to normal. She was gone from sight, and a loud splash sounded later, from the ocean around the temple’s mountain.

Frost moaned, and simply collapsed to his left, his body faintly sparking with energy even so. A Leaper landed heavily nearby, and Seem hopped down, running up to him, crashing to her knees at his front. “Frost? Frost!?”

She gripped his shoulder, and gently pushed him onto his back. “…Frost?”

His eyes did roll open, but he was obviously dazed, his mouth open with a slow gasp. He focused on her, as if in a dream, and his right claw slowly reached up through the air. She was focusing from one eye to the other rapidly, unsure what would help him best, but then she saw his weak smile, his claw gently caressing her cheek. “…Ms. Monk…”

She gripped his hand as it started to slip down, and held it in both of her own. His eyes drifted shut again, and his head lolled gently. Seem carefully put his hand back on his chest, and faintly sank over him, pressing both of her hands to his still. When she raised her head, there were tears dripping down her face, and she calmly placed her right hand on his forehead, just over the skull-gem embedded in it. “Rest peacefully. I will take care of you…”

* * *

Light Jak twirled around, his wings fanning out like glowing whips, actually slicing several Prowlers apart. More came flying down upon him, but he simply crouched, one hand to the sand, and summoned his shield again. Some tried to flip backward, saving themselves from impact, but another group simply burst into nothing against his power.

Just as he was rising to his feet, his shield flickering away for a heart-beat, he sensed an approach, and twisted around… to take a clawed uppercut from Jalnoth’s left arm straight into the chin. Jak grunted, his wings trailing along his body as Daxter barely held on to the flying warrior. His glowing body slammed back into the sand near the edge of the sand-storm, just at the base of the high dune he’d used to reach the oasis. Daxter gave a pained ‘oof’ as he was plastered into the sand himself.

Jalnoth’s eyes narrowed with pleasure, and he sprang, landed, and sprang once more, crashing down in front of Jak, his right fist swinging inward. A blast of light made him twist his eyes away, and he roared as pain seared through his right arm. Jak was on his knees, his right hand pressed into the path of Jalnoth’s fist. Their glowing eyes firmly locked for an instant, and then Jalnoth rammed his other fist inward. Jak’s left hand crossed his other arm, and blocked that blow as well, small walls of blue light holding the attacking limbs just away from his open palms. “Stronger, but not invulnerable,” Jak’s luminous voice echoed faintly even so close.

The war-master let his jaw open, roaring as his bladed tentacles came shooting out, but Jak suddenly snapped his arms out. Light exploded, sand blasting across itself from the blazing sphere of pure power that resulted from Jak’s release. Daxter was unfazed, but had his eyes squeezed shut as he stood down at his friend’s left leg.

Jalnoth was flung back, out of the sphere, his steaming body plowing back into the sand. Prowlers started to surround the light already, however, and when it faded, Jak’s form reverted with a flash and burst of its own. He moaned, back to normal, and slammed face-down into the sand. Daxter leapt to his friend’s shoulder. “Jak!? Come on, talk to me!?”

His friend managed to open his eyes, his face angled in the sand enough to do so, and gave a wan smile. “…Sorry, Dax… I can… barely move…” His eyes became firm. “Use the gun… try to… stop him…”

Daxter turned grim, but the two friends shared an understanding in their eyes. The ottsel suddenly ripped the morph-gun from Jak’s back-holster, and flipped it into a hulking, long configuration Jak hadn’t used in a long time. The orange-yellow rodent was dwarfed by the weapon, but held it steady with his body weight and a dark smirk as he aimed the large, dish-like barrel-tip at Jalnoth, who was just rising to his own feet. He fired.

A blast didn’t rush out. Instead, a wave of green light pulsed out from around Jak and Daxter, panning across the entire area within the sand-storm Jalnoth was making. The Prowlers surrounding Daxter and his friend squealed as gravity inverted, and they started to float helplessly up into the air. Daxter flipped the gun once more, a laser-sight sprouting and locking on Jalnoth, who managed to keep himself on the ground by some manifestation of his powers. A large, purple and black missile was locked on the top of the gun this time, and Daxter locked his eyes on Jalnoth. “Hey! Tall, black, and ugly! You want some a- _dis_!?”

Jalnoth did pause, but seemed only intrigued. “That missile would kill you and your friend as much as it could me at this range, rodent. You know I am not the only source of the Prowlers,” he gestured up at the black monsters vaguely, all of them still scrambling in the air. A few managed to cling to the trees around the oasis, but were barely stable enough to stay there. “Is it really worth it?”

“…D-do it, Dax…” Jak moaned quietly.

“Just hoping he’ll open that yapper one more time before he comes any closer, pal,” Daxter muttered back quite seriously. “Lodge it right down his throat for good measure.”

Even Daxter noticed a strange, building _whine_ behind himself, and both Jak and Jalnoth became abruptly puzzled. Daxter just hefted the Nova Strike cannon, aiming precisely. “Gimme a reason, charcoal-wonder!”

But the sand-storm high above and behind Daxter suddenly burst around a pale-blue and gray _Zoomer_. Long and narrow, it was still quite large, with a smooth cockpit rather than just being open… and three articulated nose-cannons that were all opening fire at Jalnoth. The war-master was knocked off the sand, and finally lost his fight with the inverted gravity.

Daxter finally looked up, gawking as the Zoomer shot down, twisting around to almost slam into the sand beside Jak and he. The cockpit snapped open, the tinted bubble rising forward, the frame lowering on the right side, and leaning out, her hand stretched down to them was…

“Keira!?” Daxter yelped.

“Help Jak! Get in!” she shouted urgently, her eyes intense with focus as her hand snapped for him to hurry closer to it.

Jak was in shock himself, but roared as he made his body push him off the sand. Keira pulled the Zoomer closer with her other hand, the underside of the craft blasting at the sand with two long rows of thrusters. Keira took the gun from Daxter, yanked him behind her, and then they both grabbed Jak’s hands. Keira strained her throat as she pulled her friend up into the cockpit with her. Jak managed to get his waist over the edge, and then managed, “Go! Into the air!”

Keira still grabbed his belt for good measure, and yanked on the controls, pulling the Zoomer high into the air. The Mass Inverter wave finally lost its effect, and Jalnoth and the Prowlers slammed back into the sands below. Jak finally pulled himself in behind Keira, and while it was a tight fit, they had the space. He and Daxter simply curled up just behind her in the spare space. Keira was about to close the cockpit, when she looked down and saw Jalnoth simply flying up to meet them.

“Turn left!” a hoarse voice surged.

She did so, and glanced aside in shock as Jak leaned past her, aiming the peacemaker down. His eyes tightened and he fired. Jalnoth locked gazed with him for just a second, and then rocketed back down into the sand amid a pulsing storm of powerful energy.

Jak started to sag, so Keira caught the peacemaker before he dropped it, and tossed it back to Daxter. Jak finally collapsed, directly across her right leg. Keira ignored it for a second, slamming the cockpit controls with her right hand. The Zoomer sealed up, swerved completely around, and jetted straight into the storm.

Daxter was laughing at the good of being alive, and sprang onto Keira’s shoulder from behind, causing the poor woman to yelp as she flew through the blinding storm, watching some kind of radar-device down at the controls between the handles for the steering. She recovered with a faint laugh. “It’s good to see you, Daxter.”

“And I have _never_ been so glad to see you, sister! This Zoomer of yours is great!”

Keira flushed a bit, and then glanced down at Jak, his chest and head resting on her right leg, her cheeks turning pink. “Um… Daxter?”

“What?”

“Do you think you could… pull Jak off my leg? It’s a bit distracting…” Her head was sinking down with embarrassment as they finally cleared the storm.

Daxter chuckled a little too much for her liking, but he was down and pulling the poor, unconscious warrior back from her leg the next moment. “Clever boy, my Jak. And here I bet you think it was _accidental_ …”

“Daxter!”

“I’m just yankin’ yer chain, Keira. You saved our butts back there.” He hopped up and leaned over her left shoulder, looking at her from the side.

He saw her smile gently. “I’m just glad I could help… this time…”

Daxter blinked. “…You didn’t before?” He grew more puzzled when she glanced down quietly. “Uh, right… ah, well nevermind. It’s all good, right? So where are we headed?”

“Spargus,” she answered with a nod, back on an easier topic. “I’m kinda worried about Jak, and that’s the best place to update the others back in Haven without going all the way back to the city.”

Daxter glanced back to his best friend. “Yeah, our boy here really went through the wringer this time. We got the device though, it’s in his pack. Weird-lookin’, floaty, cube thingamajig.”

Keira giggled. “We’ll get right on it, don’t worry, Daxter.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he finished with a grin, leaning back down on her shoulder as they shot across the desert.

* * *

On the cliffs South of Spargus, high above the sands, Jalnoth strode effortlessly across the jagged rocks, carrying the much smaller, limp form of Maia in his arms. Finding a good spot, Prowlers crawling all around them both, Jalnoth lay Maia down. She was shivering, but not from cold. Her body was badly battered, and energy was crackling across various parts of it. Her mouth hung open, shaking, and her eyes blankly gazed upward, blinking in quivering rushes.

Jalnoth crouched on her left, and held his claw over her shadow gem. “I shall mend your wounds. In the mean time, our master would like to speak with you…” His claw jerked open, and black energy burst down into her gem.

Maia screamed, her back arching, and her eyes turned solid black before she went limp. Her mind became vague, and she almost felt like she was rushing upward, off her world, out into the depths of space. Her ‘vision’ cleared, seeing the great absence of light growing larger and larger every heart-beat. Her eyes widened just before she was engulfed in complete shadow.

Abruptly, she was on some kind of hard, black ground. Maia picked herself up slowly, feeling quite physically real, but knowing she was only her mind. Focusing forward and up, she could _feel_ the other presence in the space she’d found herself. “You are… the one who controls the Darken?”

The voice that replied seemed to shake the very foundations of her perceptions, almost splitting her head with power, yet freezing her heart with malice. _For an impetuous child, your idea is at least applicable. More accurately, I AM the Darken. Jalnoth, the Prowlers, and even yourself to a lesser degree, are simply part of me. Your new power comes from me, you belong to me._

Maia’s eyes, glowing red, shivered with outrage. “I belong to no one! I agreed to kill that hero for you, not be your slave!”

_Yet you understood that fact the moment you grasped the shadow gem which now rests in your very form. The lure of power and knowledge I possess tempted you beyond your will to resist. You have only yourself to blame for your current condition, in every sense. As you share my power and have access to my knowledge, as do I you. You have flirted with Dark Eco’s power since long before I ever detected your ruined body._

Her expression twisted, but her rage was mixed with horror. “No! I am not part of you! You can take your power _back_!” She clutched the gem in her chest, and dark eco energy crackled off her body as she strained, but her eyes flared with panic as she realized she couldn’t remove the gem. In fact, it had burrowed deeper into her body. “No…” she breathed, falling to her knees. “ _NOOOO_!” she screamed, grabbing her head as the presence chuckled, making his effect on her mind completely obvious to her own senses.

Still enjoying itself with malicious humor, the voice continued, _And so you see. Dark power merely enslaves those who use it to its own source. So many creatures assume freedom is only expressed by refuting order, by raging against any kind of authority._ It took a moment to slowly laugh. _If you don’t control yourself, someone else will._

Maia reeled back with a gasp, falling back as the presence rushed closer from the shadows. Clusters of red, glistening eyes, almost like an insect’s, but each large enough to engulf Maia herself, rushed into view, the two of them glistening with their own crimson light from every lens. Rushing down from between the cluster-eyes, and out to the sides, was the same, armored carapace as the Prowler’s mouths. For Darken itself, however, the armored plating split down the middle, and lowered down on the sides, like massive mandibles. The tentacles that flowed out were nearly the size of a Prowler’s head in thickness… and the ends were exactly that, armored jaws with razor-sharp edges.

As they rushed forward, threatening to engulf and consume her, Maia exploded with power, screaming in desperation. They pushed through her energy without effort, though, and as they came rushing into her vision, all she could do was continue screaming…

And she snapped upright, screaming aloud, on the jagged rocks atop the cliffs south of Spargus, Jalnoth crouched down on her left still, with dozens of Prowlers clinging to the rocks around them both. Maia’s glowing eyes were wide in residual panic, and she was panting, energy crackling off her body, especially around her shadow gem. She abruptly focused on Jalnoth, and saw the dark, calm focus in his beady, crimson eyes.

“I imagine,” he began, “you will no longer hesitate in service to our master?”

Practically shaking with fear, Maia could only shake her head. “I-I will… do what I… promised…”

“Good,” the war-master drew the word out slowly, lowering his voice and his head, so his eyes could blaze directly into hers, finally revealing the nature of the horrible power she’d seen when they first met… an echo of the Darken itself. She could practically see the clusters of red light rushing in upon her.

At last, Jalnoth rose up, and strode away, allowing Maia to look down, still breathing heavily. _…What have I done…? I can’t escape…_


	9. Contact

The Precursor Temple was not only housing the monks after Frost’s battle with Maia. The hulking, dinosaur-like cannon Metal-Heads guarded the long, winding slope up to the temple, as the ape-like, small, scorpion types, Leapers, and even the four-legged, hulking blaster-armed Metal-Heads all crawled over the mountain-side. There were even a few Metalpedes, occasionally visible as they thundered around crags to hide in the darker places they preferred.

And they were even inside the temple, much to the unease of the monks. The halls leading to the chamber in which Frost had been placed were simply brimming with the force he’d brought with him to answer Seem’s distress signal. Clinging to the walls, ceiling, but mostly spread across the floor, even the ape-type Metal-Heads were almost anxiously waiting outside the small wooden door.

Inside, it was a room very like Seem’s own, with a bed in an alcove in the left wall, and of similar size to the young monk’s. However, this chamber featured a set of chairs and a table rather than a desk with a wall full of scrolls and books above it. A window was also nestled in the deepest surface of the alcove, letting light from the twilight sky gently drift over Frost himself. His hood was down beneath his neck, his head supported by a pillow, but he was otherwise in his usual attire and appearance. His claws had been placed gently on his front, right over left, and his body was quite straight, rather like Seem’s own sleeping posture.

And the monk herself was seated on a stool next to the bed, looking down over him with her crimson eyes hazed over in thought. What wounds of his she could see, seemed to heal quite rapidly, and she imagined he would be fully recovered in less than a day more. What was curious, after all her treatment of him, and her patient vigil, she had not once seen the dark energies raging in his body come out of their own volition. Indeed, he had an exceptionally restful expression on his onyx face.

Coming out of her thoughts, Seem gently leaned forward, and reached out with her right hand. She ever-so-gently traced her fingers over the skull-gem in his forehead. Her eyes softened with consideration, her hand easing away faintly as she saw him physically relax even further at her touch. “You are so gentle beneath your rage… perhaps that is how you have restrained the energies…” she pondered aloud, just above a whisper. Seem’s eyes became sympathetic again, and she lay her hand over his armored carapace, just above the gem. “I pray you find your peace, Frost.”

Just outside the room, meanwhile, the younger female monk, who had been the last to leave after Frost’s arrival, and the one to stand by Seem the longest, carefully eased her leg over a silent, docile Leaper Metal-Head, which was lying at the door like a tired old dog mourning its master. The young monk gently knocked on the door as she finally had her feet on even ground again, and listened with a faint jingle of the charms wrapped around her high-knotted hair.

The door opened smoothly, and Seem was looking at her, only to glance down and around at the Metal-Heads. The younger monk tipped her head. “My lady, as you see, the creatures are everywhere, but quite docile. I think they want to see him…”

Seem’s expression became thoughtfully troubled, but she nodded without a word, and stepped aside within the room. Her younger companion did the same, and, indeed, a few of the closest Leapers and one of the ape-type creatures slipped inside, crawling up to Frost’s bedside.

Seeing that they left a comfortable space around the bed itself, Seem gently moved back to the stool, sitting in their midst. She looked back to her young companion. “Leave the door open. It may agitate them to isolate him any further.”

The other monk swiftly bowed, and vanished from sight. Seem looked back to Frost, and only wondered for a moment at her own ease with the Metal-Heads’ presence. Yes, the darkness of their nature was palpable, but so was their complete calmness. There was no aggression or stress in their body language or general manner.

Focusing on Frost, Seem gently touched his shoulder, and bowed her head for a moment’s prayer, whispering in the curious, melodic language once again. Frost gave a faint sigh, and she thought he might be waking, but he soon fell back into a deep rest as she watched him. The monk found herself smiling gently, glad she could at least offer some comfort to the poor man.

Her eyes were then drawn down to her left, where one Leaper was gently nudging its nose up onto the foot of the bed, giving a very quiet, rhythmic whine, indeed, very much like a hurt dog. Glancing down, she noticed its leg was injured, but had seemingly been healed. Seem considered the creature more directly, wondering if it was the same Metal-Head she had found Frost healing back at their nest. The creature itself just nuzzled Frost’s foot for a moment, and then eased back down.

Feeling confident for a reason she couldn’t identify, but also curious, Seem started to reach down toward the creature. She paused, glancing up in surprise as not only the Leaper itself quickly backed away from her, but the entire group of Metal-Heads in the chamber slinked back, as if afraid of her. They were behaving in a completely submissive manner, even the ape-type dropping his chin to the ground and crawling back, keeping his eyes averted.

At first she believed Frost had just woken up, by coincidence, but as she glanced back, she saw him completely asleep still. Her brow creased, and Seem stood away from the bed. The Metal-Heads shifted back, keeping their distance constant, one Leaper actually pulling back through the door. Now rather astonished, Seem stretched her left hand forward, just reaching through the air, and they split aside, parting at her mere gesture for her to pass.

“…Why…?” she breathed sincerely, looking across the creatures, controlling her mystification.

Then, focusing back down on the Leaper who had just nudged Frost’s foot, she knelt down, gaining the creature’s attention as it remained flat on the ground, and gently brought her hands, palms up, toward it. The creature eased further back, but then relaxed, and gently came closer, nudging her palms with the hard metal of its snout. It gave a low, gentle hiss, and remained crouched down before her, seeming to sniff the ground in front of her knees.

Fascinated, Seem gently brought her right hand up. The creature paused, hesitant, but allowed her to touch its head from above, and she began to gently caress it back along the skull-gem. The creature gave an appreciative hiss, its white eyes falling closed as it tilted its head back gently with each stroke of her hand. Seem’s mouth was softly agape as she realized what she was doing, continuing to gently caress the creature with her pale hand. Even so, the other Metal-Heads did not come closer, nor did they relax from being completely submissive around her.

“…My lady…?”

Seem looked up to see her young friend had returned, and was staring in understandable shock at what the elder monk was doing. Seem offered a calming smile, and stood up from the Leaper, but paused herself when the creature instantly rushed down to the ground and eased away from her with a quick scuttle of its meal limbs.

The younger monk looked around. “…They are… afraid of you, my lady? Or…?”

Seem shook her head, but then turned, focusing back on Frost with an expression of surprised realization. “His mind… They…” she looked down, around herself, across the Metal-Heads. “His mind controls them…”

Her apprentice raised her eyebrows, blinking gently. “So they are doing what he does around you, my lady?”

Seem felt her cheeks growing warm, but nodded as she looked back to the younger monk. “Yes, exactly. And that is also why they are so docile. He is resting peacefully…”

“But they are not asleep, and the larger ones outside are standing guard for us…” She sounded as though she was much afraid of them as any possible intruders.

It gave her mentor pause, Seem glancing aside thoughtfully as her eyes tightened. “They are still independent creatures, however…” Her eyes widened, and she finally turned, walking back to Frost’s bedside, looking down at him with great interest.

Her apprentice came up, gently stepping around the Metal-Heads in the room. “What is it, my lady?”

Seem’s expression tightened with uncertainty, but also a vaguely wistful haze filled her eyes. “I think he is changing their nature…”

“Is that possible? Are they not forged of Dark Eco itself?”

Her mentor shook her head. “I honestly do not know, but I strongly suspect that to be true.”

“How wonderful, if it is so, my lady.”

Seem looked to her young friend, and smiled gently at the sincerely delighted expression on the younger woman’s face. “How wonderful, indeed, Siluna.”

Before anything else could be said, however, a communicator popped up, floating just beside the two of them. Seem focused on it as Sig’s voice came through. “Seem, are you there? This is Sig.”

Controlling her aggravation, Seem nodded to Siluna, who quickly bowed and left around the Metal-Heads. Seem then responded, “Yes, King Sig. How may I be of service?”

“I need your knowledge, Seem. Jak and Daxter got in some deep trouble finding an old Precursor artifact that was supposedly used by Mar to contact the Precursors themselves. They got it back here, but Jak’s out of it, and you’re closer than Samos and Onin.”

Glancing down to the side, toward Frost without actually seeing him, Seem’s expression tightened with anxiety. “…Will Jak recover?”

“He’ll be fine, don’t worry. Can you help me?”

“Please pardon me, my lord, but the temple was also attacked by Darken forces, and we were narrowly saved by … Metal-Head forces. I am afraid I am tending to the recovery of that matter.”

“What!?” Sig blurted out. “You were attacked as well!? Unbelievable,” he said in firm disgust. “Those damn, creepy-crawlies are just getting worse each day. Do you need support?”

Seem was hesitant, but replied, “No, thank you, King Sig. If you believe I can help faster than even Onin, I will—” she didn’t have to finish.

“No, no, you’re busy yourself, Seem. I’ll just go ahead and contact Samos and Onin in Haven City. With Jak out of commission for a while, we can’t do much anyway, I just wanted to check my resources.”

Seem bowed toward the speaker out of habit. “I appreciate your understanding. I do not know of the device you mention myself, but I have scrolls on the matter to examine. I will see what I can find, but I am sure Samos and Onin will be of greater help even so.”

“I appreciate it. Sig out.”

And the communicator floated out of view. Seem bowed her head, letting her eyes remain closed. Afterward, she turned, stepping back to Frost’s side, and touched his shoulder without sitting. “Rest, Frost. I will return soon…”

Seem started for the door, and watched the Metal-Heads part for her without any effort on her part; they simply cleared her path. Siluna spotted her, and hurried up to meet her mentor in the growing space. “My lady, what do you need?”

Smiling to her apprentice, Seem tipped her head. “Please bring me the scrolls on Mar in Frost’s room. I may be able to learn something that will help King Sig while I watch over him.”

“At once.”

Watching the sincere young monk move away, Seem allowed her smile to remain, and returned to Frost’s bed-side, to continue her vigil.

* * *

Morning light drifted through from a subtle landing and its gently flapping, pale white curtains. The room was rather like the one in which the Marauder survivor had been placed, square, spacious, and simply furnished, with a single, comfortable bed overhung by earth-toned sheets against the center of the back wall. Jak, his armor, jet-board, and morph-gun down against the left wall, was lying quietly in the bed, his arms over the blanket, and his eyes closed in rest.

Keira sat on the side of the bed, smiling gently down at him. She perked up a bit more when his eyebrows shifted, and he moaned. Drowsily, he opened his bleary eyes, but they quickly focused on her with a fond, wan smile. “My hero…”

The young woman blushed, giggling as she ducked her head down. “Just in the right place at the right time.”

“It’s all I ever did. Seems to make me one,” her dear friend replied, maintaining his humor.

Playfully defeated, she just smiled at him, her eyes glistening in the early light. Jak’s expression softened a bit as he noticed how the light sparkled across her blue-green hair, almost glowing around her like his own light form. He noticed her becoming considerate at his abnormal stare, a little anxiety pulling on her adorable features. Jak smiled easily for her, looking back into her eyes. “Sorry…” Pausing to confirm his choice to himself, he added, “You’re really beautiful.”

Her blush was much deeper and more serious this time, her eyes blinking a little wide as she pulled her head back. “J-Jak…”

Her hero just reached over and touched her left hand, which was resting on her own knee, the leg pulled up beneath her to sit further in on the bed. “Just being honest.”

Keira’s gentle, sincere smile, eyes, and relaxing frame emanated gratitude that didn’t need words.

Clearing his throat, waking up more completely, Jak tugged himself upright. “That Zoomer does the job perfectly. You did it again, Keira.” His fond smile remained.

Her adorable blush returned, and she shook her head. “No, no, it still needs a lot of work… It did enough for now though,” she finished with a nod.

Jak returned the gesture, quite sincerely agreeing, and glanced to the small deck. “How much time have I cost us?”

Keira glanced over herself. “It’s just the next morning, actually. Sig is already contacting the others to help figure out that artifact you guys found. Daxter and Tess have been spending some time together, too…” she trailed off, blushing a little again as she looked down.

Jak raised his eyebrows. “You were here the whole night?”

That her eyes remained averted and her blush turned almost scarlet gave him his answer. Sincerely surprised (since she really looked radiant despite an awkward sleeping position, for whatever sleep she’d managed), Jak calmed, and just leaned closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. Keira pulled herself to him with an appreciative little sigh, holding onto his back from under his shoulders. “…I don’t know what I would’ve done without you… if I’d lost you…” she breathed.

“You’d hang in there, because you’re strong, Keira… but thank you for saving me, even if just for this.”

She squeezed, and he could hear her throat tighten with tears. Her eyes were shut tightly into his shoulder. “…I’m just glad I could be there for you this time…”

Jak’s expression tightened sympathetically. He patted her hair softly with his right hand. “You’re still blaming yourself for that…?”

“I could’ve done _something_ … like Ashelin did.”

Jak gently pulled Keira out to look into her pitifully watering eyes as she pouted up at him. “You believed in me,” he said sincerely, looking into her eyes. “And I’m sorry… because there was a time there… when I really turned my back on you guys.”

“We deserve—!” she gave a faint start as he cut her off.

“No, you didn’t!” he said powerfully, gripping her shoulders. “Ashelin did help me realize that, but you all did. My banishment happened, alright? I don’t know what you could’ve done either.” His expression calmed, and tilted his head down. “…I forgive you.”

It was all she needed to hear. She completely broke down into tears, but was smiling. Trying to hide her face in embarrassment with her hands, Keira actually laughed a bit through her tears as Jak pulled her hands down, and hugged her again. This time, when she returned it, it started to calm her, and soon they were just there, embracing happily in the early light.

The door knocking startled them both, and Keira pulled away, turning her face out to the deck to let her blush fade as Jak looked to the door. “Come in.”

Sig pushed through, Daxter hitching a ride on his shoulder for once, and stepped up to the foot of the bed with a big grin. “Good to see you up, chili-pepper. How you feelin’?”

Jak glanced at Keira, who smiled back warmly, and looked back to Sig with a big smile of his own. “Pretty good, actually. So what’s the situation?” he asked more seriously.

Sig nodded, Daxter hopping down onto the bed. “Here’s the deal. I’ve contacted Samos and Onin in Haven City about that little gizmo you found. They said they’d find out what they can, and then come here. I tried Seem first, but it turns out the temple was attacked by more of those nasties, so she’s busy with the recovery.”

Keira and Jak shared their alarmed focus on the ruler of Spargus City. Jak managed, “She fended them off…?”

“Metal-Heads helped her, it looks like.”

Jak calmed to a troubled look, Keira raising her eyebrows thoughtfully. The gold-green-haired hero started to pull the covers off of himself. “I think we should go check on her, see if they need help over there.”

Sig raised a staying hand. “Whoa there, kid. You sure you’re up for any kind of mission yet?”

Daxter leered at his friend. “Yeah. Or maybe you spent a little ‘quality time’ with Keira that wore ya out?”

Keira turned scarlet, staring down at her lap with wide eyes, her hands pressing into her leg, as Jak, red-faced for more than one reason, slammed his furry friend into the bed. “Daxter! You really need to learn when to draw the line!”

Sig couldn’t help but chuckle as Daxter scrambled, his whining voice muffled in the bed-sheets. Jak finally let his friend up, holding his forehead in exasperation, Keira finally recovering with a nervous giggle. “H-He’s just being Daxter, Jak…”

Daxter gasped for breath, glancing over at her. “Well it’s not like the two of ya would be so embarrassed if _nothing_ happen-WAGH!”

This time Keira dove at him, her hands clamping around his mouth from behind as she fell onto the bed, giving Sig and Jak a nervous smile and laugh as Daxter just sagged dryly, glaring up at the ceiling.

Shaking his head at his friend, Jak slipped off the bed, and started putting his armor on. “I’m good to go, trust me. Someone made sure I got plenty of rest,” he finished sincerely, glancing over to Keira as she sat up.

She grinned, her overalls wrinkling as she finally stood up herself.

Sig was still smirking at the whole thing, his arms crossed. They all quickly faced the door when a Wastelander ran in, pointing back through the door. “My lord, Haven City ships are approaching the city. They’ve asked for permission to land inside the walls.”

Jak finished placing his jet-board on his back, Daxter hopping onto his shoulder, and Sig nodded. “Let ‘em on down. We need to see them anyway.”

So the four followed the Wastelander down through the palace, out into the East part of Spargus City. Keira looked up, raising her hand above her eyes against the glare. “Two hellcats…”

“That was fast. I wonder what got ole Greeny so riled up?” Daxter muttered, crossing his arms as he stood on Jak’s shoulder.

Sig, Jak, and Keira looked at him as if he had three tails. The ottsel sank his arms with a slow sigh. “Right, right… nevermind.”

“Daxter!”

Tess came running up from behind, Daxter glancing back to her as she did so. “Sugar-tail!”

As he ran off Jak to greet her, Keira and Jak mouthed ‘sugar-tail’ to each other, confused.

“I heard about the ships from other Wastelanders!” Tess explained, and they both walked back to Sig’s right, watching as the two ships eased around, landing amid blasts of sand over some of the exposed rocks in the hilly city.

Jak raised his eyebrows. “Ashelin, Torn? I didn’t expect you two to leave the city…”

The Governor and commander of the Freedom League guard climbed out of the driving sides of the cruisers, Samos hopping down from Ashelin’s, Onin easing out from Torn’s with Pecker on her hat. Ashelin walked up with a half-grin. “Figured this was big enough to visit Spargus for. If you don’t mind, King Sig?” she checked lightly with the big brute.

He just smirked back, nodding.

“Good to see ya, Jak,” Torn greeted simply, tipping his head.

Jak returned it before Samos stamped his staff rapidly.

“Where’s the device?”

Pecker squawked. “Yes, Onin says it is important to not waste any time at this critical moment.”

Sig gestured back into the tunnel that led to the entrance of the palace. “Follow me, everyone. I have it in the throne-room.”

* * *

Sig doubted the throne room had seen so many people in it since he’d become king, if not longer. Torn and Ashelin stood back, nearer the elevator, with Onin perched on a rock to the right of the central path, Pecker keeping himself in the air over her head, and Samos standing on the path itself, between the mystic and the two Haven City officials. Keira stood by with Tess and Daxter a little ahead, on the left side of the path, with Sig and Jak facing them. In the middle, floating by its own power above the stone walkway, was the glowing, metal cube Jak and Daxter had retrieved from the ancient chamber at the oasis.

Samos started, looking at Jak. “All we could discover for sure was that, apparently, only Mar himself could use the Oasis site to communicate with the Precursors. He never asked another to use it, but, on the other hand, no one else ever tried.” His lips creased into a firm frown. “We also have no idea how he actually activated it. Ancient texts say that he simply spoke and they heard him.”

Onin started gesturing as the others considered the information, Jak focusing down on the device. Pecker quickly interpreted. “Onin believes that you should be able to use the device, Jak, but that your guess as to how is as good as hers.” He landed on her hat with rolling eyes. “Fat lot of help you are…”

A snap of her fingers and a fresh burst of sparkles made the monkey-bird squawk in surprise and fall into the water with a surprisingly loud splash. Onin just firmed her lips and breathed as the sputtering, colorful interpreter pulled himself out.

Jak shrugged, and reached down, pulling the device up to his face. “I don’t know about _being_ the original Mar, but Damas said we were part of that line, so maybe that’s why it’ll work…” he muttered to himself, and focused on one side of the device, into the glowing, circular gap in the dark bronze metal. “Anybody listening…?”

At first, everyone assumed something else would have to be tried, but the cube emitted a powerful chime that filled the throne-room along with a wave of light. Afterward, a curious cluster of voices clearly came from the cube, but the quality was unnaturally good, as if the voices were everywhere around them.

“Oh my goodness!”

“What’s that?”

“T-That shouldn’t be on yet… or hasn’t been used for… Oh whatever…”

Though surprised, everyone in the throne room recognized the two voices. The Precursor leader and the idiot of the pair he’d had with him. The three Precursors had remained on the planet right up to being discovered by Jak, Daxter, and Count Veger during the Dark Maker crisis.

The leader continued in his lofty, proper, but rather high-pitched voice. “Hello, Jak. I see you’ve discovered one of Mar’s resting places…”

Jak smirked. “I thought I told you to call me by the name my father gave me?”

“That would be rather confusing under the circumstances, Mar, but as you wish.”

“Just making sure you remembered,” the hero continued, quite amused for some reason. “We need your help.”

The leader’s voice came back a bit affronted. “Well isn’t that nice? We offer to show you the stars and help protect the universe, and now you, after telling us to leave without you, are asking us to come back?”

Jak glanced up to the others, especially seeing the worried looks on both Samos and Onin’s faces. “Something bad is coming, something you guys might not have prepared this planet for.”

Curiosity took a moment to have its effect. “…What do you think is coming that we Precursors did not prepare you for? We put quite a bit of effort into these things, you know…”

“The Darken.”

There was an ominous silence this time. When the leader’s voice came back, it was grave and low, not like they’d ever heard before. “…We are changing course now, and will reach your world soon.”

Jak blinked. “…Uh, thanks…”

“This situation is far worse than you realize, Jak,” the leader continued. “The Darken is a foul entity even compared to the Dark Makers. He thrives on torture and misery. It is not just power he craves, but the very will of those who might resist him. …If you suspect his coming, I imagine there have already been attacks?”

“Yes. Creatures called Prowlers, and more powerful commanders. I barely fended one of them off with the light powers you gave me,” Jak answered seriously, everyone else listening with rapt attention, even Pecker keeping his mouth shut.

“Yes, we feared as much. Every creature of the Darken is actually just an aspect of the original entity’s essence, like Eco is part of our own. Still, I do not understand why he would aim so specifically for your world…”

“Seem…” Keira whispered.

“What was that?” the leader queried, apparently hearing her anyway.

Jak answered, “Keira, my… uh…” he blushed, looking over at her. Keira blushed as well. “…Good friend,” he blurted out, remembering her own words from a quick spat with Ashelin nearly a year and a half ago.

Keira looked down, not sure how she felt about it, but Ashelin raised an eyebrow at the awkward interaction.

Jak sighed dismally. “Anyway, she’s right. Seem… one of the monks who guards your secrets. She knew about the Darken first, sensed them, and also sensed a darkness here, on this world, drawing them.”

The leader paused, but spoke with a manner closer to his usual, lighter air. “One of our monks…? Well, there! You see? I told you we prepared your world for these things! Anyway,” he began again, back to being serious, “this is not something we Precursors can handle for you so easily. Do not assume our arrival will save your world. You all have a very hard struggle ahead of you.”

“No kidding, man,” another voice came over the cube, the distinctly vacant tones of a surfer clear. “This is, like, totally, majorly bad. That thing doesn’t just remake worlds, he totally _wrecks_ ‘em. And if the big dude himself gets close enough, even Eco power isn’t gonna do much good.”

“Ye-eah!” an even more vacant, almost moronic voice cut in. “Didn’t the last blast, like, bounce right off?”

“Oh shush, both of you! I’ve been stuck with you idiots for too many centuries already,” the leader took over again, with the sounds of some bashing with his staff and the grunts and complaining of the other two in the background. “The point is, Jak, that _we’re_ going to need _everything_ you can muster, if any of us are going to survive the coming conflict.”

Jak firmed, and only replied, “We’ll do what we can.”

“See that you do… and where is the young monk? Seem, you said?”

Sig frowned, but Jak blinked, “Uh… she’s… busy at the temple.”

“Ah, of course. Those monks are a delight. I simply can’t express how many head-aches they save us on countless worlds.” The leader paused, and continued seriously, “Protect Seem. If she has become close enough to your world to sense the Darken when no one else could, then the world may be trying to tell us all something. We don’t just build hunks of rock in space, our worlds our imbued with our essence, and can reach out to those who are willing to listen in warning.”

Jak’s expression softened. “Yeah… yeah, she’s been a real help…”

Sig coughed faintly, and Jak remembered something else to address.

“Oh! Before you, uh… go… The Metal-Heads have a new leader, but he seems friendly. He’s even helped protect Seem.”

“The Hora-Quan do…? Hmm, this is interesting… Well, you should take all the help you can get, hero! Now go prepare your world! You will know when we arrive…”

And then the cube died away, falling limp in Jak’s hands, the glow completely vanishing. He blinked, shaking his head, and looked around to the others, his eyes falling on Keira’s, which were both attentive and saddened. Before he could speak to her, though, Samos cut in busily.

“If even the Precursors are worried for _their_ lives, we’re just about done. Sig, Ashelin, I think a full-scale alliance between the two cities is in order.”

Sig nodded. “No problem. Just needed a reason.”

Ashelin tipped her head. “Agreed. I’m afraid we’ll be near it, though. We’re only just beginning to get contact back with other cities in the wake of all the insanity these last two years.”

Onin gestured rapidly, and Pecker interpreted, “Onin says that we should remember the Metal-Heads are still sizeable in number, and seem friendly to us now. We should look to their new leader for full-scale support.”

Keira was trying to listen to something she knew was more important than her embarrassed, hurt feelings, but had difficulty. She suddenly looked up into Jak’s eyes, and saw him sympathetically focused on her himself, even his hand reaching out a bit.

“Jak! What do you think?” Samos blurted out, twisting on one log-sandal.

Jak jerked, wincing, and exhaled. “Yeah, checking in with the new leader sounds like a good idea.”

Sig set his hands on his hips. “Since we have some time, I think we should check in on Seem and the Precursor temple itself. I’m worried our dark little friends are gonna launch another assault, if they did already.”

Samos and the others from Haven City gawked.

“The temple was attacked!?” Ashelin blurted out.

“Yeah, old face-paint herself told us over the communicator,” Daxter explained, trotting into the center of things with Tess not far behind.

Jak finally came closer to Keira, touching her shoulder. She looked into his eyes, and he opened his mouth. “Keira, I’m sor—!”

“Jak… oh, sorry…” Sig cut him off, but everyone turned and realized he’d interrupted something.

The young hero seemed dangerously aggravated, his eyes closed and his fists clenched, and Keira was looking down and away, blushing. Jak focused, and looked up at Sig. “Yes, Sig?”

“…I was just gonna ask if you wanted to come check out the temple, too…”

Caught between a good idea, since he was worried about Seem, and the situation he’d made with Keira, Jak seemed quite foul-tempered as he cringed, shaking his head. “I guess, yeah. Um… She said she was busy before, though, right?”

Torn coughed into his left fist as an excuse to look away from Keira and Jak, the others finding their own ways to end the embarrassing situation. Sig nodded to Jak. “You’re right. I’ll check with her.”

He moved back to the throne to activate his communicator, the others filing up after him. Jak finally turned to Keira, touching her shoulder as they were the last ones down on the walkway. She looked up at him with some surprise, but he could also see a faint hope in her bright, beautiful eyes, saddened by his choice of words.

“…I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you like that. I wasn’t… I mean… are we…?”

Keira blinked at him, a bit astonished at herself now that she was thinking about it. “O-oh!” she raised a hand to her mouth. “I’m sorry… too… I mean, we just hugged, we haven’t actually talked about being…”

“Girlfriend and boyfriend, yet…” he muttered gently back, catching her eyes with his own again.

Her blush flared, and she nodded rapidly.

“…Do we know for sure yet?”

Keira found her expression softening as she looked at him. “…Not for sure…”

Jak smiled gently. “You’d like to think so then?”

She looked down to the side.

“I’ll say girlfriend next time,” he whispered in her ear, and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Shock exploded on her face, as did a fresh blush, and she looked up at him, touching her cheek where he kissed her. Seeing his happy expression, she lightened, giggling a bit, and nodding happily. “Thank you.”

“Thank _you_ ,” he emphasized lightly, and nodded back to the throne. “Let’s hear what Seem has to say.”

Agreed, they joined the others. Ashelin gave Keira a concerned look, and the other young woman was a bit surprised to see it, but smiled back. Ashelin returned the smile, nodded, and focused back on the communicator in front of Sig as he sat in the throne.

“Seem? This is Sig.”

“A moment please,” the young monk’s rasped voice returned, a bit rushed and very quiet. They could all hear the noises of a door shifting open, and then being pressed slowly closed. “Yes, King Sig?” she finally spoke at her normal volume. “I have learned little of value regarding the device Jak found.”

“Then I have good news for you,” Sig replied, grinning with the others. “We contacted the Precursors, and they’re on their way back.”

Silence answered for several seconds. “T-That is… more than I had hoped for…”

Jak cut in. “This is Jak, Seem. The Precursors warned us not to relax. They want us to pull everything we can together to help fight off the Darken.”

“Of course, hero,” Seem answered. “Even our makers would consider this darkness a grave threat. I can sense that…” she trailed off ominously.

“Seem, can we come check in on you? Help with the temple?” Sig continued to change the topic to his own focus.

The monk exhaled slowly. “…I would prefer you did not. The situation here is… complex.”

“We’re worried they’ll attack again, Seem. We don’t want to leave you alone out there,” Jak explained rapidly. “The Precursors even told us to watch out for you.”

“Our makers…?” Her voice was strangely defeated as she muttered it. At length, she said, “I will not prevent you from fulfilling what you believe to be your duty, but when you come, please do not be alarmed by the Metal-Head presence.”

They all shared a concerned glance, and Jak answered. “We’re just worried about you Seem. We won’t cause a problem.”

“…I appreciate your concern. We will be here.” And the communicator shut off.

Sig stood up with his peacemaker. “Alright… who’s coming?”

Torn let his hands rest on the handles of his blasters. “I better stay here, start coordinating troop movement for our alliance, get the word out.”

Ashelin nodded. “He can handle that, though,” she gave him a wry half-smile, which made the commander quickly look down with a cough. “I’d like to come help, if I can.”

Keira raised her hand. “And me. I can bring the desert Zoomer.”

Jak smiled at her. “I’ll go with Keira in the Zoomer. Sig, why don’t you take Ashelin in the Dune Hopper?”

Sig nodded. “If you’re alright riding with me, little lady?” he gave the governor a smirk.

Ashelin returned the smirk, nodding.

Daxter hopped up and down. “Hey! HEY! You’re not leavin’ without _me_ , buddy!”

Tess pouted. “But Daxter… we were going to talk about plans for the wedding…”

Daxter twisted so quickly his neck popped. “You want to plan that _now!?_ With the world ending!?”

“When better?”

Jak chuckled, crouching down with his friend. “I think you better stay with Tess for this one, Dax. Don’t worry, this isn’t even close to over. We’ll stick it to ‘em like always.”

They punched fists, and shared a nod of agreement.

Samos stamped his staff. “We’ll remain here as well. Get there safely.” Onin offered her own gesture of safe wishes, Pecker waving with a wing.

Sig, Ashelin, Jak, and Keira returned the farewells for the moment, and hurried out of the throne-room, descending into the city, and to their vehicles.


	10. Old Friends

Not for months had he felt so rested. Though the darkness was still engulfing him, he could actually relax, feel the warmth around him. A deep, appreciative breath followed, and he let his body deflate with the exhale. At last, Frost’s bright, glowing red eyes drifted open, seeing smooth stone, feeling warm sunlight on his face. He could feel the Metal-Heads without effort, but he also sensed someone near him, and he turned his head on the pillow to see Seem smiling gently down at him. Frost’s expression turned wistful, almost dream-like in distance as he glanced from one of her eyes to the other and back. Seeing her face, smiling and peaceful as ever, was the best thing that could have happened to him in that moment.

Only somewhat suspecting the effect waking up to her might have on him, Seem tipped her head gently. “Welcome back, Frost.”

“Thank you,” he rasped quietly, his warped voice quite soft, the ethereal echo almost louder than his actual words. “Is everyone safe?” he checked sincerely, tilting his head a bit. He seemed weary, but very relaxed.

“Yes. Thanks to you,” she emphasized faintly, her expression becoming serious in her sincerity.

Frost’s mild, dry humor returned to his face, and he started to sit up with some difficulty. “I think I was… a little late, myself…”

He caught himself inhaling sharply as she came close, gripping his far shoulder and near arm with her hands in a secure, gentle hold of support, helping him rise. The energies in his body almost reacted, but something in her presence soothed him infinitely. She could actually be so close, and he wasn’t harming her.

“I believe we would say you were just on time,” Seem replied casually, as much so as she ever became, allowing him to feel she missed his sensitive reaction to her touch. Once he was sitting upright, she pulled away, sitting on the stool again.

Frost gave her a gentle smile and tip of his head in thanks. “I’m glad…” he added to their mild conversation. He noticed the Metal-Heads in the room with them, and the open door, but focused back on her. “…I’m sorry if I scared you, Seem. I had to get her away from you to do anything…”

The monk’s expression softened with surprise. “How would you have scared me…?”

“When I said I would take her offer. I swear to you that I never intended to, but I couldn’t see another way to get her away from you…” he trailed off, his face etched with anxious uncertainty as he looked at her.

Seem let her expression fade to a calm but sincere one. “I was, indeed, concerned for a moment, because I could sympathize if you had honestly accepted. …I believe it is quite clear that you are very concerned for me,” she phrased it as delicately as she could think to, and he looked down. “I was, however, not surprised when I realized you had used it as a means to protect me. Do you regret lying, even to an enemy?” she finished with gentle curiosity.

Focusing, he nodded, and looked back up at her, his own expression controlled and calm. “I know it was practical, but I’ve never liked using dishonest means to protect people. If it worked, however, I am quite relieved,” he finished with his gentle smile returning.

She smiled in kind, and then they both tried to speak at once. Each stopped, pausing to control their own embarrassment, and looked to the other. Frost gestured. “Please…”

“I only wished to let you know that Sig, Jak, and possibly some others are coming to see if we need help here at the temple. I tried to dissuade them, but they were quite concerned.” Seem tipped her head to him, almost as an apology.

“Because I’m here, or because of another attack?” Frost asked quite sincerely, no hint of regret or guilt in his tone.

“I suspect a bit of both is at play, but the latter is more their primary concern.”

Frost nodded, and gestured down to the Metal-Heads near the door. “Were there any difficulties?”

Seem glanced down, incidentally to the very Leaper that had nudged his foot and allowed her to pet it, and found herself smiling gently before she looked back to him. “No. They remained quite docile in the temple, and guard it outside.”

A soft relief appeared on his face as he closed his eyes, and then the darkened man focused on her. Seem tilted her head gently. “You also wished to say something…?”

Frost nodded, but looked down, obviously working through how to actually word it. Seem patiently waited for him, understanding it was a matter of personal importance. He finally looked up, and started, “I wished to…” he winced faintly, “I wished to apologize for my remarks back at the nest. I know I have not shown the proper respect for your devotion, I should have guarded my feelings better. I would never wish to challenge your choice of life, Seem, I respect it immensely,” he finished more smoothly, his sincerity pushing the words out before his anxiety could cut them off.

Seem was touched by his anxiety over the issue, but was, in truth, not surprised. She gently smiled, and then bowed her head, gesturing between them with a hushed, melodic prayer. “…You need not apologize again. The first was appreciated but unnecessary, as is this one. You have only shown me respect and kindness, Frost. I wish to reciprocate in the ways that I can.”

She could tell it gave him further relief, but he faintly smiled as he looked back into her eyes.

“I still made you uncomfortable with my questions, my approach. I was just trying to protect myself, make sure of the situation before I put myself in a worse position, but it was actually part of exactly what it was supposed to avoid. Your kindness to me has… I believe I owe any peace I currently have to you, Seem,” he said at last with a soft nod, and saw that this time she became a bit troubled herself. “I almost consider my current state a blessing, because it allowed me to experience your kindness. And I understand that the nature of your character is greatly tied into your choice of life. In my selfishness, I allowed myself to ignore the fact that your role as a monk, the choices it implies, and your kindness to me are deeply connected. If I am truly grateful for your kindness, I must respect your choices. I do understand that, but I am not as noble as I try to be…” he admitted quietly as he finished, trailing off and looking down.

Seeing him expose himself so sincerely to her only made her own, growing conflict twist painfully in her heart. Indeed, his sincerity in apologizing, his genuine understanding, only deepened the conflict within her. She could respect him so easily… Controlling her own selfishness, she exhaled quietly, and looked at him without anxiety. “I deeply appreciate that you would tell me this so honestly, Frost, and your understanding of my position. I apologize, deeply, if I have done anything to tempt you unfairly, if my methods have been ill-applied…”

He shook his head instantly, his crimson eyes blazing up into her own, natural ones. “No!” he said clearly, not loudly, “Not in the least, Seem. You have been entirely appropriate and kind to me. I have allowed my emotions to be unfair to _you_. You need never apologize to me.”

Though, in her own mind, she felt she had been unfair to him, she accepted his words with a deep bow of her head, and smiled gently at him to reassure him. Frost managed to smile again, and then slowly stood up. Seem rose to her feet, watching to see if he needed some help still. He seemed to be recovering by the moment, and took a few firm steps out into the center of the room, nodding to himself.

“I’ll be back to normal in a short while now,” he explained, looking at and flexing his claws.

Seem found herself smiling gently, and gestured down to the Metal-Heads as he came around to look at her again. “They have been quite worried about you, it seems.” She had already chosen not to mention her own effect on them during his rest.

He laughed faintly, and knelt down with the closest ones. “I admit, I’ve grown fond of them. Especially the Leapers,” he explained, rubbing the head of the same one she’d petted, and it gave a similar, soft hiss of contentment. “Of course, I have the haunting suspicion that may not be entirely my choice,” he muttered quietly, rising to his feet as the Metal-Heads finally started to flow down the hall and out of the room.

Seem watched him sympathetically. “You fear that your change has affected your mind that much?”

He tapped the skull-gem embedded in his forehead as he looked to her seriously. “I have an army of dark creatures linked to my mind. I don’t know how much of my thoughts are what I would have agreed with before this happened.”

Easing, Seem tilted her head, looking him in the eyes shrewdly. Frost grew curious, looking at her expectantly.

“Do you truly believe you are not simply growing fond of them because they are no longer a threat, and seem to be changing into perfectly good animals?” she challenged sincerely.

The hall outside was all but empty at last, the Metal-Heads all going outside to help guard the temple under his mental command. Frost, however, smiled gently. “I’d like to think so.”

Seem tipped her head. “I believe it is safe to do so.” She turned more serious. “How do you wish to handle the others who are coming?”

He pulled his hood up. “If I may, I will greet them with you. I need to demonstrate that I am not an enemy.”

“If your actions to date have not, perhaps letting them know who are would assist in that light?”

Frost tipped his head. “Perhaps, Ms. Monk, but I fear they would be more disturbed than reassured.”

She bowed with another hand gesture. “We shall see how things progress. Please follow me, they should be arriving soon.”

Frost only bowed to her, and followed her out of the chamber. As she led him down the hall, Seem let her expression turn troubled. Hopefully he would reveal it to them, and they would not be distrusting as he feared. She wanted him to feel like himself again, not only through her. It was unfair to him to be his only connection to personhood, it forced too much of his heart to invest itself in her. That she was also afraid of feeling the same way for him didn’t help matters. Hopefully, regaining old friendships would help him reach a comfortable distance with her… and allow her to relax as well.

* * *

“I’m having trouble not reaching for my gun…” Ashelin muttered quite seriously as she looked up at the temple mountain from the right side of the Dune Hopper Sig was driving. The buggy had just landed from the last jump onto the island mountain itself, taking the twisting, sandy path up to the summit.

Sig chuckled. “Same here, Governor. Hell, I’ve never seen this many Metal-Heads out in the open and in one spot before.” He had to slow down and steer gently around the legs of the massive cannon-backed runners, but he and Ashelin both noticed that the dinosaur-like Metal-Heads only glanced at them before focusing outward again. “If they decide to turn on us, there isn’t much we can do about it in here.”

“No kidding,” the red-haired woman muttered ominously, looking up through her bangs at the leapers and other, smaller Metal-Heads practically flowing over the walls on their ‘patrols’.

Above and behind the buggy was Keira’s special desert Zoomer. The blue-green haired woman herself was piloting, Jak keeping himself curled up just behind her. Jak’s eyes tightened as he looked down at the view, seeing so many Metal-Heads around them, watching them, but never moving to attack.

Keira swallowed, adjusting her grip on the controls. “After that battle back at Haven City, this is really making me nervous, Jak.”

“Same here,” he whispered slowly. “On the other hand, it’s such an obvious trap that it wouldn’t make sense.”

“I guess I understand Torn’s view of things better now. If he wanted to, this new leader could really cause some damage,” Keira continued quietly, watching Sig drive around the last of the largest Metal-Heads, and leap across the last gap in the path. Now the walls were swarming with leapers and a few of the four-legged, hunch-backed blaster types.

Jak just nodded, knowing she’d see it in her peripheral vision. To keep her mind relaxed, he started with a new topic, “This Zoomer handles like a dream, though. Are you sure it’s not ready for mass production?”

She giggled a bit. “I’d like to clean up a few parts of it functions first… but it’s near that stage, yeah…”

He patted her back, and Keira felt her cheeks getting hot.

Sig, meanwhile, eased his vehicle to a halt some meters away from the tall, welcoming gate of the Temple, little more than a sculpted stone frame with large torches. Seem was standing there, with the cloaked figure that led the Metal-Heads waiting calmly in her wake, his claws folded into his sleeves, looking rather like a monk himself… at least one that had gotten a cloak run through a burning house.

The desert Zoomer floated down with a whine of its vertical thrusters, and finally landed, the cockpit opening as Ashelin and Sig climbed out of their car. Keira hopped out on the left of the Zoomer, Jak the right, and all four came up as Seem bowed, her hand gesturing. “Welcome, friends. As you can see, we are quite well protected,” she actually gave a faint smile as she finished.

Keira was trying to keep her curiosity subtle, but her faint glances around Seem were clear enough. Frost, privately, kept his eyes down once he noticed her looking at him. His hood kept his identity quite hidden in combination with his other changes.

Ashelin tipped her head to Seem herself, “Yes, very well protected, Seem. We just wanted to come see if we could assist with anything…?” she looked to Sig.

“And what exactly happened,” the desert King was more direct, stepping forward with his peacemaker in hand.

A wave of low hisses swept across the walls, and Jak and Sig tensed, Seem controlling a wince. At this, Frost glided forward, coming up on Seem’s left with a faint smile. “Nice armor, King Sig.”

Sig paused, blinked, and glanced down at himself. “…Oh… right…”

Even Jak held a hand to his forehead in realization. Sig was wearing Metal-Head carapace all over his body. It would be like a Metal-Head wearing skins from people all over itself and walking into a city.

Frost, however, calmly raised his hand, and all of the Metal-Heads in that part of the temple smoothly vanished from sight. “I am not your enemy.”

Sig coughed a bit. “Didn’t really think you were… But we’d like to know what happened here.”

Seem nodded sagely. “And I would appreciate hearing what happened to Jak and his companion as well. Please come with me. We can discuss these matters more appropriately inside.” She gestured back with a step in that direction.

Keira, though embarrassed for Sig’s sake like the others, had the dark, Metal-Head leader in her gaze almost the entire time. There was something about him, something she couldn’t quite place…

“We’d be glad to,” Ashelin replied to the monk with a nod.

Seem and Frost moved back toward the temple, and Jak, Keira, Sig, and Ashelin followed swiftly. As they moved into the temple proper, Seem glanced back to Frost with gently raised eyebrows. He tilted his head down, and she looked forward again. He was still unsure. Unfortunately, she could see why. Their companions were obviously anxious in his presence, though Keira seemed the most welcoming with her gentle curiosity. Seem led along, keeping her thoughts to herself.

In a few minutes they were all sitting around a modest table in one of the rooms higher up in the temple, in fact just down the hall from the very chamber where Maia had attacked the monks the previous day. Frost sat down on the far corner of one side of the table, Seem choosing to sit next to him, and then Ashelin, Sig at the head, Jak, and Keira down the other side.

The monk began calmly. “Yesterday evening, the dark creatures we’d fought in the desert came into the temple. We fled, but they soon cut off our exits, and we were forced to barricade ourselves in the meditation chamber. It does not have a ceiling and one wall is open to allow a clear view of the desert, so I used one of … the signal devices given to me to call for aid.” Her faint hesitation in explaining the origin of the device got the others’ attention, and Frost winced privately. She was only trying to keep her word to him.

Continuing, she said, “Soon, they forced their way in, and took us hostage, their leader coming to me directly. I can only imagine she was watching—?” she glanced up as Jak cut in.

“She?” the hero asked in obvious surprise.

Seem nodded. “Yes, it was a woman, though twisted by dark powers. I can only imagine she was watching during the battle in the desert, because she knew what I had done during that battle. She knew… that the Metal-Head leader and I were acquainted, and came here to force me to ask him to serve her, or we would all be killed.”

Everyone abruptly focused on Frost, who frowned firmly for himself, keeping his head bowed. Seem glanced back to him sympathetically, and continued to the others. “Then he arrived to aid us, and successfully fended her off. She said her name was Maia.”

“What!?” Jak blurted out, Keira gawking at Seem herself.

Seem was a bit startled, as were Sig and Ashelin. Even Frost was looking at Jak curiously.

“What else did she say? Did she mention where she came from, who she was?” Jak rapidly listed off, rising so that he was leaning over the table, his eyes blazing with emotion.

The monk was too startled to react immediately, so Frost finally spoke, trying to keep his voice a little deeper than normal. “No. She only gave her name. Her appearance was similar to mine, but she had greater control over the energies themselves, and the Prowlers obeyed her commands. She had a black gem embedded in her chest.”

Jak calmed a bit, focusing on the Metal-Head leader gravely. “Prowlers? The monster I fought in the desert, trying to get the contact device, called them that as well. He looked like a big one of them, and had a lot more power… and a black gem in his chest.” He finally sat back down, but Keira was looking at the Metal-Head leader intently.

 _His voice…_ she realized it was familiar, but it was different, perhaps only similar.

Seem was thoughtful, but then spoke. “Perhaps it is these black gems that express the Darken’s power here on our world?”

Jak nodded. “And he mentioned another, that he wasn’t the only one controlling the Prowlers. I guess… Maia would be the other one…” he looked down, dark and serious.

Keira looked to him. “It couldn’t be her, though. It must be another person.”

Seem focused on Jak intently, Sig, Ashelin, and Frost just watching with rapt interest. “Hero…” the monk began carefully, “you recall how I sensed something in this darkness… connected with you?”

His eyes shifted up to meet hers ominously. “I was just thinking the same thing.”

Everyone looked from him to the monk and back. Keira finally focused on Seem. “Wait, what do you mean?”

Seem looked to her respectfully. “I believe it _is_ the woman you know.”

Keira was stunned. “…B-but… that was in the past… before Jak ever came back here. Gol and Maia were the Dark Eco users that threatened to open the dark silos and ruin the world… _centuries_ ago by now. They were dumped in a silo before it sealed over…”

“There was a vast reservoir of Dark Eco beneath the sands where I felt… what I believe to be Maia’s presence.” Seem tilted her head down a bit, emphasizing the gravity of her point.

Keira and Jak stared at each other. Jak finally looked down, holding a hand to his head. “…So you’re saying…”

Seem nodded. “Her body has been corrupted by Dark Eco for centuries. It is small wonder she would draw the Darken here now.”

Keira’s brow creased. “But what about Gol?”

Seem shook her head. “I sensed no other presence, but perhaps he is elsewhere?”

“No,” Jak said flatly.

Everyone focused on him.

“What is it, Jak?” Ashelin asked when he didn’t continue immediately.

Jak slowly answered. “Gol is dead, now that I’m not…” He nodded slowly, as if to himself on some private matter. “I think Maia just got lucky, if you can call it that. Some combination of circumstances let her stay alive, sustained by Dark Eco. I think Maia is what drew the other monster here, and they’re the source of the Prowlers.”

“Prepping the place for their boss,” Sig muttered, leaning on the table with one elbow. “Considering how powerful those monsters are, it’s a pretty sound idea.”

“And they draw their power from Dark Eco,” the Metal-Head leader announced abruptly.

The others turned to him, Seem more considerate, her eyes tightened with concern as she remembered what he’d told her.

“When I fought them, they were pulling on my power, drawing their own from it. I was simply using enough to overwhelm them.”

Jak frowned faintly, looking up and off. “Now that you mention it… yeah, I felt the same thing when I was using my dark powers.”

The hooded figure nodded faintly.

Sig leaned back. “So what’s your story, fella?” He was looking at Frost. “You just came out of the wild blue, it seems like.”

It seemed the Metal-Head leader was considering his response as Seem glanced at Sig anxiously. She wasn’t sure how this would go.

Frost finally looked up with a slow exhale of his unnatural voice. “I was never in the Wasteland before the assault on the Haven City Metal-Head nest.”

Jak looked at him. “So have you been in control since before the attack?”

Seem’s expression fractured with saddened shock, and Keira and Ashelin both noticed it, giving each other a curious glance.

Frost’s jaw clenched, and everyone tensed as energy startled crackling over his arms. He slowly breathed, his body shivering, and the energy slowed, vanishing. “…No… I was not controlling them during that battle…”

Seem looked at him directly, and only he could see her face clearly. His glowing eyes focused on her, and he winced at the pleading look on her face. Strangely, his own pain at being thought of as the mind behind the force that killed so many good guards vanished as he saw her sympathy for him. She was almost in as much pain _for_ him. He looked down, calmed, closed his eyes, and spoke. “I do not know how you will react to this…” he trailed off, and reached up, pulling his hood back, revealing his head.

Seem was abruptly surprised, and the others weren’t quite sure what to make of it. Indeed, he seemed like a humanoid Metal-Head, only with black skin. Keira, however, changed from uncertainty to growing shock. “W-wait… your face…” Her face exploded with joy, relief, and disbelief. “Frost!?”

“What!?” Ashelin and Jak both blurted out at once, focusing on Keira, and then Frost, who was looking at her in sincere astonishment himself.

“Y-you… recognize me?” Frost managed, his expression adorably bewildered.

Seem bowed her head with a relieved smile, even if it was only Keira who reacted so well.

“It _is_ you! Frost!” Keira shot out of her chair, running around the table, tears already in her eyes.

Seem winced, looking up, and Frost leapt back, knocking his own chair away as he raised his hands. “W-wait, wait! Keira stop!”

The woman did, but was a bit hurt, unsure why he’d asked her to not come closer, embrace him. And why had he not revealed himself before?

“I… I can’t always control the energy, Keira… I don’t want to hurt you just for wanting to be kind to me…” Frost explained painfully, guilt and sorrow melting his expression and lowering his arms.

Ashelin, now that she was seeing his emotions and reactions, slowly stood up, sliding her chair back. “I… don’t believe it…”

Keira’s pain was gone before she even thought about it further, replaced with deep empathy. “Oh Frost… But… why didn’t you tell us you were alive?”

Frost bowed his head. “It was safer for everyone if I was believed to be dead. I could take the Metal-Heads out of everyone’s way, learn better how to control the energy in my body, and no one would have to worry about me. I wanted to stay a secret, but…”

“Frost… you’re my friend…” Keira trailed off sadly, her gentle voice powerful with emotion.

His glowing eyes focused back on her own. “I am very sorry for deceiving you, but I thought it was for the best…”

“You must have been so lonely…”

Seem finally stood up, and came nearer to Frost. He glanced at her from Keira, caught between them, and Seem gently put a hand on his shoulder.

“S-Seem…” his far hand came up, trying to stop her, but she shook her head gently.

“You can control it. Let her embrace her friend.”

His frame sank sadly, but he lowered his hand, and nodded. Knowing she was doing the right thing, Seem smiled gently out to Keira, and extended her other hand. “Come, Keira. He will not let himself harm you.”

“I don’t want to force him…” Keira said anxiously.

“You are not.”

Keira looked at Frost, and only saw the kind man who had sympathized with her in the cargo bay, been willing to sacrifice himself for everyone. “Frost!” She ran forward, and grabbed him in a hug.

He flared with surprise, Seem backing away, and then let his head fall onto Keira’s shoulder, his claws coming up, and just resting on the top of her back. She didn’t even seem to notice his hardened carapace or the damaged armor as she embraced him.

“I thought you were dead,” she whispered tightly, tears dripping down her face.

“So did I,” he strained back, tears just starting to drip down his own face. But they were crackling with energy.

Frost eased back, trying to push her away. She went back with his gesture, blinking, and saw the energy crackling across his face. Keira let him pull a few steps away, hiding his face with his hands as he tried to calm the energy down. Keira only seemed to grow in sympathy, she and Seem looking at him in remarkably similar manners.

Jak and Sig were finally on their feet, Jak beginning to feel guilty for his questions. They watched Frost slowly pull his hands down, and nod to Keira.

“Thank you for your kindness, Keira…”

Jak came around the table, Ashelin finally coming closer as well.

“You’re the one… you led them out of the city…” Jak muttered seriously, looking at his friend with his own kind of sympathy.

Frost slowly nodded. “Yes… I knew I could control them, so I thought it best to just get them away from everyone.”

Ashelin eased closer, tilting her head down to the side. “Did you really think we’d turn on you?”

“I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t deserve it at first, Governor.” His body actually stiffened, going into a military style pose as he returned more to his old self. “I could barely control the energy at all.”

Jak sighed, shaking his head. “So you were just watching out for everybody again?”

Frost glanced down with a dry laugh. “I’m not sure if it was all that noble, but it was definitely part of my thinking. I knew I was a danger… still am.”

“You’re one of us,” Ashelin said firmly.

Seem eased back, smiling gently as she watched them interact. Frost already seemed much more at ease, more peaceful than before.

Frost gave the governor a surprisingly gentle smile. Keira wondered if he’d not become even more kind-hearted since she’d last seen him. For all his power and darkness, he came off so… humbly.

Ashelin smirked at last. “So… think we can talk you into a full alliance with Spargus and Haven?”

Frost laughed. “I’m just a commander in the Haven City guard, Governor.”

She shook her head. “Not anymore, Frost. You’ve made the Metal-Heads our allies. You really are their leader. So let me ask you, again, as equals.” She offered her hand confidently. “We need your help.”

He took a moment to focus, but then reached out, taking her hand in his with a solid shake. “You will always have it.”

Keira giggled, and Jak smiled easily.

“Never thought I’d see the day…” Sig muttered.

Seem just smiled to herself, closing her eyes for a moment of gratitude. Now, maybe, Frost could really start healing. When she opened them, however, she saw him looking over at her, the gentlest, deepest gratitude in his own. She was affected deeply herself, her expression turning soft and surprised, but he was forced to focus back on the others as they asked him something.

A weight on her shoulder made the monk turn around, looking up into Sig’s organic eye. He half-smiled gently. “He opened up to you almost from the start, didn’t he?”

Her mouth opened, and Seem wasn’t sure why her cheeks were getting so warm.

Sig grinned, almost in a fatherly manner. “Don’t worry about it.” Then he turned serious, “But there’s something about this whole mess we need to discuss.”

Seem was curious, but he just came closer to the others, clearing his throat. They all focused on him, including Frost, who, now that he realized he was rather like Jak, seemed like quite a nice, polite young man… with a strange body. Sig explained, “Since we know they hit this place to get at Seem so they’d have something over Frost here, I think we should bring both of you back to Spargus.”

Jak nodded. “I agree. This place is vulnerable, and we can defend Spargus better from a larger assault.”

Frost winced. “I would be afraid to stay in a city too long, King Sig… I can control my powers for periods of time, but it wears me down quickly.”

“That’s a chance we’ll take, Frost,” Sig replied frankly. “And your Metal-Heads can help guard Spargus.”

Though worried, Frost nodded. Seem however, came around. “But my place is here. I can not abandon my duties, my lord…”

“You’re the biggest asset we have against the Darken until the Precursors get here anyway, Seem. Just think about it as a temporary vacation from the temple.”

She looked down, but knew he was right. She finally nodded. “Of course…”

Ashelin clapped her hands together. “Then we better get going. There’s no time to lose.”

Sig looked to Frost. “Can you transport Seem and yourself with us? We’re low on space.”

The Metal-Head leader actually smirked a bit. “If she wishes, I can get her there quite well.”

Seem smiled gently back at him, tipping her head. Addressing the whole group, she said, “I must go explain my departure and leave some instructions for the other monks. I will meet you outside the main passage.”

They agreed, and Frost watched her leave softly, the door shutting her from view at last. Keira smiled as she looked at him, and he finally noticed, blinking at her. The mechanic giggled. “You’re pretty cute when you’re staring at her like that, Frost.”

He would have blushed, but had to leap back, startling everyone as energy burst of his hands. He slowly closed his fists, and managed an apologetic smile at Keira, who was blushing.

“Sorry…” they meekly said to each other in unison.

Then they both laughed, the others managing to relax into mild laughter themselves.

“It’s tied to your emotions?” Keira checked more calmly, her eyes completely sincere and open as she looked at him, not disgusted or pitying.

Frost nodded. “Especially… certain ones.”

She couldn’t help but giggle gently again. “Sorry. I won’t tease you then. I know how awful you’d feel if someone was even injured a little.”

He smiled sincerely back. “I appreciate it. …And I _am_ sorry for making you think I was dead when I wasn’t…” he looked down.

Keira wanted to hug him again, but kept herself where she was, just smiling. “I understand why you did it. I’m just so glad to see you again.”

“I missed you, too.”

Her smile brightened.

Jak leaned over, and ‘accidentally’ put his arm over her shoulders, giving Frost a dry stare. Keira blushed, but was giggling.

“You wouldn’t be moving in on _my_ girlfriend, would you, Frost?” Jak continued in the mood of his ‘glare’.

Frost sincerely laughed. “Don’t worry. I’m not competition with a genuine hero.”

Ashelin actually swatted up him upside the head. It startled him, but he was actually more concerned when she shook her hand from the sting of his armor, Keira holding her hands to her mouth in light sympathy, Jak just cringing a bit.

“G-Governor, are you o—!”

“I’m fine! But don’t go on like that. You’re one of Haven City’s heroes, and we’ll be glad to welcome you back after this mess,” she explained sincerely, smiling at him.

He relaxed again. “As you wish.”

Ashelin nodded in over-important acceptance, smirking, and then Frost looked back to Keira with his gentle smile. “Congratulations, Keira.”

She blinked, but then blushed, smiling happily. “Thanks, Frost.”

Frost leaned toward Jak, actually showing some dry humor himself. “Of course, you better make her feel like a goddess, or I may have to take certain steps…”

Jak was blushing this time, but they all laughed.

* * *

Seem stood at the end of the leaper-lizard stable, whispering gently to her favored ride, her old friend. Siluna, her young apprentice, was standing by quietly, watching Seem bid the creature a temporary farewell. At last, the elder monk came up to Siluna, and they shared a bow, their hands gesturing.

“Be safe, Siluna. Please look after Sandwind for me. Should anything happen to me, I am entrusting him to you,” Seem explained seriously, but there was a sincere fondness in her eyes.

Siluna was stunned, but nodded. “I pray that will not be so, my lady, but I will do all I can in your absence.”

Seem smiled. “You show great promise, Siluna. Please, trust me when I say that you can stand without me. You have demonstrated great strength and discipline, especially during these recent difficulties. Do what you know to be right.”

Siluna was blushing, her eyes growing wider until her mentor finished. “M-my lady…”

“Be safe,” Seem repeated gently, tipping her head, and then started out of the stable.

“And you, my lady…” Siluna breathed, watching her go.

Just a few minutes later, Seem was walking out to the join the others near the Dune Hopper and desert Zoomer. Frost was with them, but he stood at a mildly greater distance. He looked almost jovial compared to his usual troubled, disciplined state, and it allowed Seem to smile gently herself as she joined them. “I am ready.”

Sig nodded. “Then we’ll escort you to Spargus. Or should we say the Metal-Heads are escorting us?”

Frost chuckled faintly. “How about allies making a coordinated change of location?”

Sig, Ashelin, and Jak shared the joke more than Seem and Keira, but it lightened the mood further. Jak and Keira hurried to the Zoomer, Sig and Ashelin the Dune Hopper, and Frost called down a Metalpede. After it arrived, Frost politely helped Seem climb up onto the creature’s back. “We’ll trade to a dune-runner once we’re nearer them,” he explained as they settled, and the large Metal-Head crawled along the wall after the Dune Hopper and Zoomer.

Seem simply nodded, sitting just behind him on the silver-blue creature’s back. She couldn’t help noticing the same gentle fear in Frost’s eyes when he looked at her… and she still found it hauntingly comforting. She looked down at her armor with concern. Then her face firmed. The very world was at risk, she could not let her mind wander to trivial matters. She would have time to properly consider her inner conflict after they had dealt with the Darken… or she wouldn’t have to worry about it anyway.

At the bottom of the mountain, Frost helped her climb up from the Metalpede and onto the dune-runner. Sig started leaping to and from the islands back to the mainland, and the Zoomer loomed above, waiting. Once the massive beast set off, leaping the gap with a thunderous rush, Frost and Seem securely held to its shoulders beneath the cannon, the rest of the Metal-Head army on the mountain started to flow down, some swimming through the water. One of the ape-type Metal-Heads was carrying Frost’s warped rifle before it dove down into the water itself

“Would you have preferred to go with someone else?”

Seem blinked, staring at Frost on her left with surprise. “W-what?”

He looked at her kindly, but she saw a type of pain behind his glowing eyes. “You seem a bit tense. I thought you might have preferred to go with Sig or Keira.”

The monk shook her head. “No, I am perfectly grateful for your help in returning to Spargus. I apologize if I have…” she trailed off as he shook his head gently.

“Perhaps I was mistaken, but you were doing nothing wrong,” he said simply, and focused ahead.

Seem glanced down, her expression softening sadly. _He’s trying to help me push him away… Makers, I do not know what to do…_

* * *

Far away from Seem’s turmoil, on the cliffs near the coast, Maia was leaning on a rock by one leg, Jalnoth perched off to her right. Her eyes glowing eyes were not focused on Frost, however. She was gazing sharply at the Zoomer above the moving mass of beasts and their comrades. “So the hero has the usual weakness… I have a simple plan, Jalnoth. We let them get back to their city, let things quiet down, and then we strike.”

Jalnoth shifted faintly, his tail lashing like a cat. “To what end? They will have an army with them, of the sand people and metal animals. Why not strike now, for that much risk?”

Maia smirked. “Because only you and I will be going into the city. You will take Jak’s little beloved hostage. In his distraction, I will kill him. If he gets past me, you kill them both.”

“Very well.” He flowed back over the rocks, soon gone from sight.

The darkened woman lowered her head, her eyes narrowing down at Frost and Seem, and then back to the Zoomer, her mind picturing Jak and his unfortunate choice of girlfriend. “Samos’ daughter, isn’t she…?” Maia pondered aloud, her mood turning darker by the second. “I may be trapped, Jak… but I _will_ make you suffer before my own end.”

Her fist crackled with power, and she rushed out of view herself.


	11. Ties That Bind

Seem stood on a balcony of the desert palace just off from one of the large halls. The moonlight glistened across her armor and in her crimson eyes as they gazed skyward. Her expression, however, was quite grave. More stars were absent from the sky. The Darken was much closer. The ominous patch of complete blackness in the night was almost pressing on her already, constricting around her heart.

She looked down, bowing her head. If even the Precursors were wary of this foe, it was in no way certain they would survive the coming challenges. So much suffering, so much death, simply to answer some dark being’s insatiable lust for corruption. It was so… imbalanced. Her expression tightened, her eyes closing as she realized tears were clenching her throat. _…It must not end this way._

In the hall itself, a dark claw gently reached around the first edge of the opening to the balcony. Frost eased into view, his glowing eyes focused on Seem’s back as she stood, head-bowed, cast in moonlight. Even as he sympathized with her apparent sorrow, unsure of the specific reason, he could not help noticing how majestic and beautiful she seemed in that moment. Disciplining his thoughts, he brought her apparent sadness into his own focus, and finally spoke. “…Ms. Monk?”

Her head came up and she twisted, her eyes blinking wide with her surprise.

Frost quickly raised a hand. “I apologize for startling you…”

Seem relaxed, pressing one hand to her front with a faint smile. “It was not your intention. I was… elsewhere.” She turned back, looking up at the sky gravely.

Frost gently stepped onto the balcony, and drew up on her right, looking up where she was focusing. “…Is that the Darken?”

She simply nodded. Then she found her eyes drawn down to his face as he considered the shadow in the sky himself. Though he seemed quite serious, as expected, there was a calmness, a peace in his manner she had not seen before. It reminded her… “…May I ask you something, Frost?”

His attention focused on her immediately. “Of course. What is it?”

Seem paused, unsure how to phrase herself, but then nodded, and said, “Something happened while you were resting. I did not bring it up before, in case it would embarrass you for some reason.”

Concern took hold of his expression, but he nodded attentively.

The monk smiled gently to let him relax a bit, and she saw that it worked before she continued. “The Metal-Heads were quite docile, as I told you before, but there was more to it. They seemed almost saddened by your condition, sympathetic.”

His eyebrows rose faintly. “They were…?”

She nodded. “And… they responded to me, became submissive when I approached. One Leaper, the one whose leg you were healing when I visited the nest before,” she explained with a faint nod and gesture of her hand, “allowed me to pet it. It was quite gentle, and remained very submissive. Do you have any explanation for this?”

The uncomfortable anxiety on his face intrigued her, but she waited for him patiently. At last, he managed, “Though the specifics of their behavior is not something I can explain, since they are independently minded creatures who happen to obey me, I think…” He looked down, pressing his lips together.

Seem tilted her head, realizing he was deeply embarrassed. She was glad she waited to ask in private, and felt as though it would have been better left un-asked.

He did continue a moment later, however. “You know they are connected to my mind, yes?”

She nodded patiently.

“…I think they were…” he looked down, clearing his throat a bit. He was calm and slow, which implied to Seem that he was controlling his body’s energy already. “I think they reacted to my perception of you.”

Seem nodded once more, gently. “Forgive me, but I had suspected that.”

Frost tipped his head with closed eyes. “I would never doubt your shrewdness, Ms. Monk.”

Her own conflict was starting to rise up into her thoughts, but she calmed it. Her curiosity, however, was becoming quite powerful. She looked at him, tilting her head faintly to the side again, focusing up into his closed eyes. “Are you… afraid of me?”

Frost’s reaction was instant. His head snapped from left to right in a lightning fast shake, and he looked into her eyes, eager to inform her of the correction. “I am afraid of harming you.”

The intensity in his low voice and blazing eyes actually startled her, and she eased back slightly. Guilt surged in her chest as he retreated, his hands up apologetically.

“I-I apologize, I was… I…” he looked down firmly, obviously upset with himself.

Seem shook her head, stepping closer. “No, no. Please. I apologize. You only surprised me, you did not scare me.”

He looked at her with a pitifully sorrowed expression. “I still made you pull away.” He glanced down to the right, out over the city. “For all my good intentions, I don’t handle myself very well.”

His body twitched, and he snapped his eyes back to her with his own surprise as he felt her hand rest on his left shoulder. He eased, looking into her softened, sincere pools, glistening with moon and star light. “Your action spoke of your sincerity, not your lack of control. Your meaning surprised me. I did not realize you were so concerned.”

Frost’s eyes drifted down to the hand on his shoulder, and Seem paused herself, pensive as she realized his right hand shifted, wanting to come up to hers on his shoulder, but stayed down at his side. He looked back into her eyes with a surprising amount of emotion. “…You… you bring peace to my mind… my heart more than anyone else, Seem.” His voice was low, very soft, weak with guilt for what he was saying. He could see the growing shock in her eyes, a serious, deep shock. He looked down before continuing. “My rest… When I rested under your care…” He had to look into her eyes again. “It was the first real rest I’ve had since I became… this…” his claws came up, open, simply revealing themselves to her.

Seem let her hand come back gently, looking softly at his hands, and back up into his eyes.

Frost smiled through his more taxing emotions. “I will always be grateful for your kindness, Seem. You’ve already saved my life more than you know. I… I’m sorry for… for not keeping myself restrained in my regard for you,” he looked down to the side again, his claws coming down finally. “I know it must make you awkward around me…”

Seem was also looking down, her deep conflict shivering through her eyes as she held a hand to her front again. The effect she had on him, his gratitude… seeing what he had done for her already… She squeezed her eyes shut, and calmed herself down. There was more than her feelings at stake. She inhaled, steadied her nerves, and focused on him again. “Frost…”

He looked up at her gently.

She smiled. “I am very glad I could help you find some measure of peace. You have also saved my life, quite literally, more than once. I owe you much, many of us do now. Please believe me when I say that you have the nobility and kindness you’re trying to achieve. You are a very good man,” she tilted her head down to emphasize her point, “and I am honored to have met you.” She bowed gently, and gestured with her hand, whispering in the strange language.

When she looked up, she saw the powerful emotion in his eyes again, but he pulled it back and smiled warmly, sincerely. “I am very glad you see that in me…”

Seem stepped closer, and pressed her hand to his chest, looking into his eyes. “It is not just what I see.”

His eyes closed, but he smiled still. “Thank you…”

She found herself smiling back, but then her eyes flared a bit with private panic. She pulled her hand back as smoothly as she could manage, and forced a calmer smile as he looked up at her. Frost saw a kind of pain behind her eyes, and his expression softened with concern. “Are you alright?”

 _How selfish of me…_ She smiled, bowing her head for a moment, and looked back at him with a sincere happiness in her eyes. “I apologize. I was allowing myself to be troubled by something else.”

Frost smiled easily. “I’d be quite arrogant if I thought myself more important than what’s coming. You’re always looking out for everyone, Seem.”

He had no idea how much guilt exploded in her heart at his words. “…It is something I try to maintain…” she replied as honestly as she could.

Her companion did, however, see something in her eyes at his response, and he realized there was something she was deliberately keeping private that he’d coarsely struck. Tilting his head, Frost offered another gentle smile, and asked, “You were never in Haven City, right?”

The shift in topic allowed her to relax, but she tilted her head. “No. Why?”

“I think you would have liked the gardens there. My sister did, because they brought the planet back into the city, despite the walls. She thought they were the most beautiful part of the city.” No sorrow found his voice this time, he was just fondly reminiscing.

Seem grew more curious. “You have a sister?”

Frost only became more serious, he didn’t let his mood fall completely. “She died when the palace collapsed, with her family.”

Seem’s eyes flared, and she raised a hand to her mouth. “Forgive me…”

He smiled, shaking his head. “Please don’t apologize, you had no way of knowing she was dead. Her death… is why I joined the city guard. During the final assault on the Metal-Head nest, I had to improvise, and it resulted in…” he raised his claws up limply, as if they were objects he was showing off.

Softened by his sincere fondness, Seem also smiled in the same, subtle way, and replied, “You loved your sister very much…”

He nodded easily. “She was my best friend, and her husband and children were some of the best people I’ve ever known.”

Turning serious, Seem looked at him. “Is her death…” She shook her head, looking down. “I apologize, I should not have started that…”

Frost was curious. “No, it’s alright. What did you want to say?”

Seem gently looked at him. “Your rage comes from feeling responsible for her death, doesn’t it?”

The darkened man nodded calmly, but he added, “Among other things,” with a controlled gravity in his eyes.

The monk bowed in front of him, gesturing and whispering another prayer. “Thank you for sharing this with me,” she finished as she straightened.

Frost bowed to her this time. “And thank you for sharing your beliefs with me before.”

A gentle humor softened both their expressions, and Seem tipped her head. “It was my pleasure.”

“Likewise.”

Seem looked down with a soft laugh, and Frost admired it for a heart-beat before catching himself. He cleared his throat lightly, and said, “I’ve disturbed you for long enough, I imagine. Good night, Ms. Monk.”

She almost corrected him, but instead nodded, bowed, and said, “Rest well, Frost.” She gestured, “May our makers watch over you.”

“And you,” he replied in kind, and only then did he smoothly flow out of view, back into the castle.

Seem looked back over the city, her expression falling into a grave, saddened visage. It seemed that his welcome by his friends only made him _more_ fond of her in some ways… or was she just imagining things because of her own desires? She sank her head into one hand, almost crying. She caught her breath, steadied herself, and nodded while she lowered her hand. “I need to meditate… I can not allow my feelings to blind me, now least of all.” And so she left the balcony herself.

* * *

A little later that night, Keira was walking down one of the palace halls, wiping her grease-marked hands on a rag before a yawn called one up to hide her open mouth. She blinked her dry eyes a few times to moisten them, and smiled drowsily. It had been a long day, but she was working out some of the minor kinks in the Zoomer, and had stood in on the first strategy meeting between the allies. It was so good to see Frost back, however much he’d changed.

Glancing off to her left as she walked, she admired the Spargus cityscape. The hall itself was entirely open on that side, just supporting pillars and a waist-height balustrade blocking the edge. The palace had a certain primitive elegance to it she found charming, the craftsmanship and intricacy of the carvings on the supports quite disciplined. She took a moment, drifting up to the center of one section of the balustrade, looking up at the sky with a wan smile. Though the ominous void in the sky was disturbing, she let her tightened eyes relax as the moon came into her focus.

Tilting her head, idly amused, she realized the soft glow of the moon almost looked like one of Jak’s eyes in his luminous, winged form. Keira blushed a little, but looked down with a soft laugh at herself, and moved off, her hand trailing along the banister until slipping free.

Her apparent destination was the modest, wooden door at the end of the open hall, past the last branch deeper into the palace itself by some meters, two other rooms in the right wall. She passed their doors, her hand just touching the door-handle when she paused, abruptly clutching her arms around herself with a shiver. “Wow… I guess it just took this long for that night chill to set in this far from the main desert,” she muttered, and then pushed her door inward, stepping into her room.

It was a simple space. A bed lay by its head against the back wall, a small balcony waited beyond the sculpted frame that was the left wall, and a closet, restroom, and small dresser were arrayed along the right wall, starting from the back. Keira, however, stopped just past her door, wincing a bit as she crossed her arms tightly with the cold, her breath actually misting from her shaking lips. She only had the vague notion that something was not quite right before she jerked with fright, her door slamming shut.

The woman twisted around, her body open and taut as her alerted eyes focused on her door… and slowly rose up along the two black talons just touching the top, along the sinewy, thick, twisted limb… to the curled up, faintly shifting mass of a huge Prowler. Keira was one of the only people who knew the creature by sight, his tail slowly swaying on the right side of his curled body, which she couldn’t understand clinging to the wall so easily for its girth. The malevolent, crimson pools glowed all too clearly in the gloom of her darkened room, focused on her in their narrow, sharp malice.

“Good evening,” Jalnoth rumbled from the shadows near the ceiling, his voice vaguely muffled by the solid plate of bone-like armor across his maw.

Keira’s heart was pounding in her chest, and she felt short of breath. When the wraith started to unfurl, one leg elongating to the ground by the ominously coiling talons of its toes, she stumbled backward a few steps. The beast seemed to glide straight down into her eyes, his body stretching from the roof, only to crouch back down as his face flowed toward hers. In a heart-beat, they were nearly touching, Keira’s head tilted back as her horrified eyes reflected the glow of his own.

Another voice made Keira awkwardly twist her neck in renewed fright toward her balcony.

“Call to Jak…” Maia whispered with seductive satisfaction, gliding into the chamber, and looming right into Keira’s face, her feet never touching the ground as the air vaguely distorted amid waves of purple luminescence evanescing to the floor.

Hearing her dearest friend’s name made Keira snap back to reality. She firmed her expression admirably, and shook her head. “No. I won’t be bait for him.”

Maia only gave Jalnoth a dry stare, one eye-ridge raised high. The massive claw snapped up from the left, and Keira yelped as it clamped around her left arm, which had come up on instinct to defend her face. The young woman cringed, wincing from the pain as Jalnoth slowly squeezed around her narrow forearm with his four talons. Her hand was already going numb.

Focusing on the blue-green-haired girl again, Maia enunciated the words clearly into her long ear, almost hissing through gritted teeth, “Call to Jak…”

Tears were watering Keira’s eyes as she realized what was going to happen to her. “…No…” she breathed, looking at her arm.

Jalnoth slowly squeezed further, and Keira strained her throat, clawing at his talons and falling to her knees in front of him, tears dripping down her cheeks. She whimpered, but was remarkably silent. Maia frowned darkly, becoming fully upright as she set her hands on her hips. “Trap or no, calling to him gives you a far greater chance of survival, girl. I know he cares for you. You’re Samos’ little girl, yes?” she finished with mock-lightness, leaning back down at Keira’s head. “You helped him deal with Gol and I oh-so-long ago. Right?”

Keira was shivering from the dull, throbbing pain in her arm, but managed to respond with a firm tone in her pained voice. “And… he’ll… do it again…”

Maia tilted her face down to look at Keira’s from the side, almost folded completely over herself. She smiled mockingly. “You think so? You sure he’ll have the heart after you’re dead? His precious little… mechanic-girlfriend?”

With tears still in her eyes, Keira’s face clenched with controlled anger, her right fist coiling tight. In an abrupt surge, she rammed her fist back across Maia’s face, forcing the darkened woman back from the sheer surprise of the blow, and leapt up, driving both feet into Jalnoth’s chest, crouched as he was.

Keira yelped again as the other claw shot in, clamping around her neck and shoulders. She gurgled, choking with a tight squeeze, Jalnoth’s eyes unmoved. Maia started laughing as she rubbed her black cheek with the back of her right wrist. “You do have some spirit, girl, I’ll give you that much credit.” She glided closer again, Keira kicking and clawing at Jalnoth with her free limbs.

Seeming to lose interest in her, Maia looked to her companion. “Take her, as planned. I’ll take care of the hero.”

Jalnoth focused on her in turn. “How…?”

“I have my methods. Now get going.” She firmly pointed at the balcony.

Keira’s eyes flared as she felt herself rush through the air, her arm loose, but her neck still powerfully clenched in the monster’s grip. “N-No! Leave him be! You don’t have to fight us, Maia!” she rasped around her constricted neck.

She only saw Maia’s smile, and heard the haunting response as Jalnoth pulled her over, onto the roof of the palace. “I won’t fight him. I’ll just kill him.”

Unable to stand it, Keira stretched her neck, pulling on Jalnoth’s talons, and screamed, “NO! _Jak_!”

Maia laughed as she heard the scream from back in the bed-chamber, and idly looked to the bed. “Mm…” tilting her head as if listening for something else, she smiled with dark relish, and moved deeper into the room…

Just a few moments later, the door to Keira’s room burst open from the outside. “Keira!?”

Jak froze, his hands on the handle, Daxter on his shoulder, looking around. They both saw her lying in the bed, the covers pulled up over herself. Jak winced, and then started to blush. Daxter cringed. “Told ya you were hearing things, Jak… Or were ya just trying to catch her changing?”

“Dax!” Jak whispered sharply, swatting his friend upside the head. “I just thought I…”

“…Jak?”

They both froze, caught, and focused on the bed, where the muffled voice had come from. Then Jak’s brow creased, realizing Keira was acting strangely. He started into the room. “Keira… are you okay? You sound a little…” He came around on the right side of the bed, Daxter not thinking much of it, but then the covers flew off the bed, and a rush of purple light blinded them both.

An explosion shook the palace, and Jak and Daxter flew out of Keira’s room, slamming into the floor of the hall, and tumbling back to a halt several meters from the damaged doorway.

Jak was back on his feet, Daxter on his shoulder, as Maia floated out into view.

“Well hello there, hero. It’s been a while.” She grinned.

Jak’s fists clenched, Daxter clinging to his shoulder, staring at Maia in dark shock. “Where’s Keira!?” Jak roared back.

Maia laughed, holding one hand near her mouth where she floated. “Don’t worry about your girlfriend. Jalnoth is keeping her very good company. You’re familiar with him, I believe.”

For a heart-beat, Jak’s expression fell empty, horror seizing him at the idea of what that monster would do to… His fists clenched, and he trembled, curling over himself. He suddenly roared, Daxter barely hanging on as his friend practically exploded, his body warping into his darkened form, crackling with dark lightning, his onyx eyes focused balefully on the floating woman. “ _Maia! If he harms a hair on her head, I’ll rip you APART!_ ”

She grinned. “My, my, that’s quite a temper you have there, hero.” Her own expression flattened darkly. “You are welcome to try. I do hope Keira’s arm is doing better now.”

Daxter wailed as Jak rocketed off the ground, the flooring splintering in a wave from his departure, and Maia burst to meet him, a wave of dark energy pulsing from her feet. They slammed together, the ground, wall, and ceiling exploding along the line of impact before a shock-wave of dark energy pulsed out, incinerating the debris before it could land.

The two twisted into the ground, Jak rammed his left claw across Maia’s face, driving her into the damaged flooring, but she violently sent both feet into his chest. Dark Jak flew back, his talons digging into a pillar, and swung himself back into her, slamming her into the wall. Maia roared from pain and rage, her own body crackling with power, and she rammed her right knee up into his face, coiled up, and hammered both feet back into his reeling body. Her senses stretched with her release of power, revealing the shock-wave exploding out from the blow in excruciating detail, Jak folding around her legs and their crystalline boots, and Daxter barely holding onto his friend’s shoulder.

Roaring from pain, the dark warrior slammed back _through_ the balustrade, but drove his left claw down into the floor before he could fly off completely. Baring his teeth at Maia as she extricated herself from the rubble of the wall, Jak yanked himself toward her with a fresh roar, his wake storming with power as it peeled off his body in arcs and bolts, his arms pulling back on each side, his legs curling up behind him. As he came, Maia pulled her right fist back, her feet spread apart, dark energy building around the extremity. She screamed like a feral beast herself, and wrenched her fist toward him, stepping into his full-bodied leap.

Jak’s claws snapped in, crashing into her fist. The force exploded with yet another wave of energy and shattering floor, but Jak yanked her arm down to the side, growled into her face, and then rammed his right boot into her stomach. Maia grunted painfully, her throat gurgling, and exploded into the wall, a centric wave of force shattering the surface and raining the debris back down around Dark Jak, Daxter grinning on his shoulder.

“See how you like _that_ , ya old hag!”

Dark Jak just growled. “ _Where is she!?_ ”

Maia wrenched out of the crater her body had made, giving him a darkly satisfied glare. “Doesn’t matter if you can’t get through me, now, does it?”

Daxter mock-winced, “Ooooh, wrong thing ta say!”

Jak reeled back, rising into the air, and sent his right fist rushing down at Maia’s head, but she suddenly screamed, her back arching and her arms jerking taut at her sides, her hands clawing at the air. Maia exploded with power, a dome-wave of distorted air and purple energy ripping out of her form. Jak flew back, but flipped completely over, and dragged his claws back through the floor, battered by her energy, Daxter wailing as he flailed off his shoulder.

Maia marched forward, her boots grinding the rubble to dust amid her storming energies. “If I am to be a slave to this power…” she rasped, coming upon Jak as he resisted the raw force of her attack, raising her right fist, her glowing eyes fiercely focused on his own, “you can be _sure_ I’m going to use it!” Her fist shock-rammed down into Jak’s head, energy ripping away from the impact, and his head slammed through the floor. Daxter flipped off into the far wall, diagonally down the hall, off to Maia’s left.

Her energy storm started to fade, but Maia abruptly jerked to her left as a crimson bolt shot past her head. She focused down the hall furiously, her hands sparking with power.

“Jak!”

The dark warrior looked up to see Torn, both guns firing, Ashelin, and Sig firing at Maia with their weapons. The commander himself had just called out to the transformed hero. Seem was standing behind them, her own face marked with alarm at what she was seeing.

Maia growled, her left hand raising to form a shield of energy against Sig’s peacemaker blasts and Ashelin and Torn’s pistol shots, creating a storm of explosive light and force ahead of her. Tess even appeared, scrambling between Torn and Ashelin, hefting a rifle herself (the weapon nearly twice the length of her body). “Get away from them!” she shouted, firing rapidly despite her entire body pulsing with the shots.

With energy building in her other hand, Maia pulled it back. Seeing she was ready to throw it through her own shield, Sig lowered his gun. “Take cover!”

The five comrades dove to the sides just as Maia unleashed, the sphere of dark eco power ripping down the hall and nearly decimating the stairway at the opposite end, leaving a sizeable hole on the outer side.

And then Jak surged up, ramming Maia back into the wall. They struggled there, energy crackling around their bodies, arms locked.

Daxter shook his head, recovering, and looked up to the others. “Not… the best day… to be an ottsel,” he muttered, still a bit dizzy.

Maia finally twisted out with Jak into the open hall, the two still struggling. Jak roared. “Where is Keira!?”

Torn’s eyes widened. “They’ve got Keira?”

Seem, crouching against the left wall behind him, felt ill in sympathy for the other young woman. _If I’d only sensed their presence sooner…_

Ashelin reloaded her pistol. “Then we have even less time to send this monster packing. Let ‘er have it!”

Tess reeled out from cover with her rifle, Torn rolling along the ground as he fired, Ashelin and Sig firing from the right side, the governor crouched in front of Sig, who unleashed a fully charged shot with the peacemaker.

Maia strained, but Jak kneed her in the gut, punched her from below as she reeled, and ducked. Maia stumbled back, but flared energy around herself, blocking the deadly storm of firepower. “You can’t stop me with those _toys_!”

Sensing something else, she suddenly twisted to her right, facing the open view of the city, only to find a cloaked mass rushing into her. Frost crashed into Maia violently, his cloak rippling amid his own storming energies. With his hood down, his fierce roar made his glowing eyes and armored, blackened form a frightful effigy before he and Maia crashed into the wall amidst a wave of purple lightning, which scattered across the wall and floor like a swarm of mad insects.

Dark Jak was still surging with power, ready to pound Maia clear through the wall, but Frost looked back over his shoulder, urgency coming through his fierce eyes and angry grimace. “Go, Jak!”

Dark Jak shivered, focusing on Frost for a split-second of uncertainty.

“Save Keira! You’re the best chance she’s got!”

Maia screamed as Frost tried to talk to Jak. “No! I’ll kill him!” Energy started to burst off her hands and out of her eyes, but Frost grabbed her wrists and took her knee to his stomach with little more than a firm grunt, his own power surging around her, keeping hers occupied.

Finally, Jak realized what he was doing. His black eyes flared, and he suddenly screamed, reverting as his back arched. Daxter ran up to him, and watched his friend control his rage, suddenly exploding with blinding light. Both Frost and Maia stumbled away from the surge of pure power, but Light Jak wasted no time, his wings gently drifting down on his sides as Daxter hopped onto his shoulder. “Thank you, Frost,” he said calmly, and then ducked down, his hands slamming together. In a blinding flash, he was gone.

Maia screamed in frustration. “ _Noooo_!” She reeled on Frost, who was coughing in recovery from Light Jak’s presence, down on his knees. “You _miserable_ little—! It’s time to put you out of your self-pitying misery!” Her left hand snapped up behind her without looking, blocking the storm of supporting fire from the others, and her right hand flared with energy, pulling back as she aimed down at Frost.

Ashelin’s eyes flared with the others, Seem reaching out from her position at the wall, as she saw Maia’s fist start to fall. “Frost, watch out!”

* * *

Despite time being frozen around them, Daxter knew his friend was pushing himself to the limit, even in his more peaceful state. Light Jak rushed through the air, his tendril-wings pulsing him higher and higher, his glowing eyes panning across the city, down the cliffs, around Metal-Heads, Wastelanders, and the first groups of Haven City guards who had arrived during the day.

His eyes focused down on the black wraith that almost stung his eyes with malicious power. …And there was Keira, her body frozen in anguish as she was painfully pulled up the cliffs just South of the city.

Daxter would have sworn his friend became even brighter, and then held on for dear life as the light warrior dove, ripping down through the air just as the time-freeze ended. Glancing at his friend, Daxter turned quite serious, realizing Jak was completely focused and calm, grave. Subtly shifting his wings to keep himself aloft, Light Jak rushed over the desert from the city, and then flapped his wings, rushing up the cliffs just as Jalnoth’s tail vanished over the top.

Jalnoth himself rushed over the dark brown crags by his multi-jointed legs, making shocking progress for such rough terrain, Keira still gripped in his left claw by her neck and shoulders. The poor woman was in constant pain, hanging at an angle with her back, her left arm still badly bruised, and her body suffering from a constant difficulty in breathing. Combined with her fear that Jak was indeed going to be too well trapped to live, she was crying, tears falling back across her temples and into her hair.

Abruptly, she was let loose, and yelped as her back slammed into a flat rock on the top of the cliffs. She whimpered, curling over herself as Jalnoth crouched down, facing back toward the city.

“…He’ll stop you…” she rasped, looking away, but firming her emotions.

“We shall see,” the war-master muttered, his eyes glistening up as Light Jak swept down.

Keira _felt_ him, her eyes rushing up to see the glowing, angelic warrior, who had landed neatly on a sharp rock just a few meters away, Daxter perched on his shoulder. Jak held his hands behind his back, his glowing wings gently idle behind him, his eyes focused on Jalnoth. “You have harmed my beloved.”

Keira, despite her circumstances, blushed at his disciplined but sincere voice, tears from much more pleasant feelings coming to her eyes anew.

Jak continued, “You will not do so again.”

Jalnoth raised his right claw. “I’m closer to her than you are, hero. Choose wisely. Surrender, or she dies in front of you.”

“You are _asking_ for it, buddy!” Daxter sourly snapped, his expression quite dark rather than sarcastic.

Jak’s glowing eyes simply relaxed into a darker focus on the war-master. “You will not touch her.”

Keira blinked, but they were both gone. She curled back from where she’d last seen Jalnoth, but looked around in alarm.

“Don’t be afraid.”

The ethereal voice rushed past her ears with such warmth. She let her eyes close as tears dripped down her cheeks, falling back against the soft front of her hero, light rushing around her. She looked up to see the world cast in gentle blue tones, Light Jak’s shield surrounding her as he held her from behind. Jalnoth appeared, but didn’t even bother attacking the shield as he stood in front of it.

Jak gently picked Keira up in his arms, and she just curled herself into him. She almost felt like her wounds had been healed in his simple presence. The luminous warrior himself rose to his full height, his wings relaxed, and let his shield lower as he focused on Jalnoth, Daxter grinning with satisfaction on his shoulder.

In a rush, Jalnoth lunged, and Jak took flight, bursting high into the air as the dark beast’s fist shattered the rock into dust. Already building power in his free claw, Jalnoth twisted, unleashing a beam after Jak with air-shuddering force. Jak simply looked down, his shield flaring, the beam dispersed against the light power. However, the light warrior had to focus, and Daxter watched him clench his jaw as he drifted down, landing further away from Jalnoth, the beam still scattering off his power as he held Keira in his arms.

She looked up into his glowing face, and he focused down into her eyes, seeing the deep gratitude and affection coursing out of them. He couldn’t help but smile back, his shield becoming more powerful in that moment. Keira, however, saw the conflict in his glowing eyes, and she nodded. “You can let me down, Jak. I know you need to move better.”

His old, confident smile appeared, and he nodded to her. Gently, he let her down, and she found that she was, indeed, healed from the warm power brimming from his form. With one last shared glance, he leapt toward Jalnoth, Daxter, as always, clinging to his shoulder.

Jalnoth ripped across the rocks on all-fours himself, his own jaw finally ripping open, his tendrils lashing out as he leapt for Jak. Light Jak snapped his wings back, propelling him straight into the dark beast. Jalnoth bestially screeched in pain, landing heavily as he grappled with Jak, but the wings coiled around his arms, forcing him to let go before they did as well. And then Jak twirled, his foot and each fist slamming into Jalnoth in a spiraling rush.

Stumbling back, his body steaming from the light power attacking him, Jalnoth could only look up as Jak stood on a rock in front of him, looking down gravely. “As I said… you will not harm my beloved.” And then he rushed down, braced, and ripped up with his right fist, his wings flowing down against his back, Daxter barely holding on as he gave a holler of triumph himself.

The glowing fist smashed into Jalnoth’s armored chin, and drove him straight up into the air. The beast roared in pain and frustration, but flew high into the air, arcing back, falling far away with no sign of catching himself too soon. Light Jak landed lightly, and rushed back to Keira, crouching down with his landing at her feet. She almost collapsed with relief, smiling around her fresh tears at him. “My hero…”

He came up, embraced her powerfully for as long as he could justify, and then whispered, “We have to get out of here,” in her ear.

She just nodded, and let him scoop her up. He ducked, let Daxter brace, and snapped his wings as he shot into the air once more. In a flash, they were rushing back to the city.

* * *

“Frost, watch out!”

He heard Ashelin’s voice, his mind reeling from Light Jak’s presence, but just as Maia’s fist came hurtling down, flaring with power, his own red eyes snapped up to meet hers, and his hand shot in, grabbing her fist. She howled, the energy exploding along both their arms, dying off along their shoulders.

Frost smirked faintly. “What’s wrong, Maia? Can’t handle a little pain?”

Her expression flattened, and she dropped the shield behind herself, yanking her left hand around, grabbing his neck, and flinging him around her body, slamming him back into the wall. He struck, but didn’t even pause before he belted her across the face with his left fist, sending her stumbling to the side.

Sig dropped his gun. “Ugh! They’re too close. I can’t fire at her like this.”

Ashelin and Torn had lowered their guns as well, Tess finally dropping hers with a similar growl of frustration. Seem watched anxiously, finally rising to stand with them. “He forced her off before, but not without nearly killing himself.”

Ashelin twirled her gun into her holster. “He can do it.” Her eyes focused on her comrade intently.

Frost followed Maia after finally falling from the wall, and their arms snapped into a blurred rush of sharp, jerking impacts, each attempted blow meeting another, fists, forearms, and elbows locking and snapping apart amid storming, crackling power. Frost was slowly forcing Maia back, but she was clearly growing more frustrated by the second. Finally, she jammed her left foot down into his, making him pause from pain, and rammed her left palm up into his chin.

Flipping clean over himself, Maia came down on his back with her right fist, smashing him into the ground with a shattering blow. As she was standing alone, Tess and Torn each fired at her, but Maia only summoned a wall of power to block their shots as she yanked Frost out of the ground by a firm hold on his head-armor. She grunted with exertion, charging and ramming him straight into the wall, head-first. He slumped against the hole he made, and she kneed him in the chest, flipping him out of it. She followed up, as he twisted in the air, with a beam blast from her left hand, but her eyes flared as his own claws came out, crackling power crashing into her blast, exploding between them.

Both flew away, Frost flipping over and slamming to a crouch, one claw scraping off the ground as he finally skidded to a stop just in front of his comrades. Looking up, he saw Maia rise off the ground without effort, floating back toward him. Sig, Torn, Ashelin, and Tess took aim, Seem focused down on Frost with a mixture of concern and some relief in her eyes. He seemed wearied, but perfectly capable of fighting.

Sig narrowed his organic eye down the length of his weapon. “On me, people.”

Ashelin gripped her pistol carefully, Torn twirled both of his, holding them laterally, right over left, crossed, and Tess cocked her rifle, aiming similarly to Sig himself. Frost pulled his claws together, purple-red energy and distortion building between them. “Ready,” he rasped, his eyes glowing beneath narrowed lids.

With a full shot charged for his peacemaker, Sig smirked as Maia started to build energy in her hands. “Now!”

The blue-white sphere of energy burst free, spiraling toward Maia as crimson bolts and a dark-blast twirled after it. Maia laughed, wrenching her hands wide. Energy exploded in a violent arc from her two hands, expanding into a wall-wave, ripping down the hall. It paused with Sig’s blast, took the crimson bolts with little effort, and paused again with Frost’s dark-blast. The moment that dispersed, however, the wall burst around a rip-rushing beam of more dark energy, shooting straight toward Ashelin in the center of their group.

They were all too stunned to even dodge, and it was moving too fast anyway. Frost, however, sprang forward, his left claw aimed back, his right at Maia. His own power rushed out of both claws, the left claw’s beating Maia’s to his friends, and expanding into a protective wall, very much like Maia’s own shields. The right claw unleashed a storming blast of purple-red lightning toward Maia.

Sig and the others ducked reflexively, but watched as Maia’s blast did, indeed, disperse around Frost’s shield, the Metal-Head leader landing as his attack continued toward Maia, stuck near the wall, between his friends and their enemy.

Maia laughed once more, her left hand up, starting to absorb Frost’s attack. He focused firmly, his arm tightening, the claw constricting, and she was finally forced to blast against his attack with her own. She, however, added another blast from her free hand back at the others again. She maintained both beams, forcing Frost to defend himself and his friends at the same time. His body was already shivering.

Seem held a hand near her mouth. “…He can not maintain this…”

This time, Ashelin seemed just as anxious, glancing from Frost, to Maia, and back.

Maia calmed her laugh, but remained amused as she focused down on the fiercely determined warrior fending off her attacks. “How cute. Still so protective of that little monk girl, aren’t you?”

Seem glanced down, Sig, Ashelin, and Torn giving her a faint glance. Frost, however, just darkened his expression.

The floating agent of the Darken continued, “Tell me. Are you protecting all your friends… or just her? Who’s really in the center of your mind right now, Frost?”

Seem looked up at Maia in grave anger, Frost still shivering with exertion.

Maia chuckled faintly. “You really are pathetic. All that devotion for a woman who can never look at you the way you look at her. You’ve even convinced yourself you can nobly ignore your affections… respect her _choices_.”

Frost growled inhumanly, actually pushed closer to her, energy thundering down his body, crackling across the floor. “My emotions are my business, whatever they may be, witch. I will not regret returning kindness to a kind person.”

As she watched, however, Seem’s expression melted with her conflict, watching him stand against Maia. “…Leave him be…” she whispered, her hands tightening into fists, her head bowed.

Darkening her smile, Maia sent a surge from both hands, Frost groaning, falling to one knee.

Torn lowered his guns, his eyes showing rare urgency. “Oh come on. He can’t hold this himself. We should retreat, at least let him lower the shield,” he said to Sig.

Sig frowned firmly. “…I can’t stand leaving him like this… but we haven’t done much good…”

Laughing, Maia started to push her left hand toward Frost, his body shivering in waves. “That’s right, Frost… You’ll give your all every time… But it won’t be enough. You know why, too. Deep down, you know you couldn’t have her even if she was available.”

Seem watched, heart-sick, as Frost actually waned at the words, his expression constricting in more than physical pain. Her eyes quaked with emotion, and she focused on Maia with grim determination. “How _dare_ you mock him!”

Everyone, including Maia herself, abruptly focused on the monk in surprise, especially Sig.

Seem continued instantly. “He is a kind and noble man, who has not let a power beyond my darkest fathomings corrupt his humanity! You can show us all the power you have, Maia, and you will never show enough to prove his equal! I do not see you suffering on your knees for anyone!” She didn’t dare let herself look down at Frost, his shocked eyes would reach too deeply into her heart, she’d exposed it too openly. “You mock him because you envy him! Do you not?”

Each of them, including Frost as he looked back to Maia, could see the words struck something deep. Maia focused on the young monk with an unbridled rage, an animalistic hatred that made her entire body shiver as her head tilted more and more to the side. She unleashed an unnatural roar that shook the entire hall, purple-red lightning exploding off her body, her beams halting.

Frost wheezed, finally letting his own power down for a heart-beat, but never took his eyes off Maia. Seem stood where she was, a strange power in her small frame, even Sig backing slowly away from Maia where she stood still. The dark queen shot forward, the already ruined floor of the hall bursting into the air in her wake. Though the realization of imminent death did enter Seem’s mind, she just stood, looking into Maia’s on-rushing, furious gaze without fear. Indeed, she saw a terrified animal lashing out in desperation, not a dark queen. A frightened girl.

And as Maia rushed closer, her perceptions flaring, Frost shot away from the side of the hall, driving himself back toward Seem as well, his eyes blazing with power and focus. He pulled just ahead of Maia, and then sprang off the ground.

Sig, Seem, everyone rapidly back-peddled as Frost and Maia twirled down into the ground with explosive force, Seem almost falling to her knees from the shockwave. Maia sprang up, her fist rushing down at Frost’s face, but he swatted it aside, rising into her front. He drove her back into the far wall, and leapt back as she flipped into an arc-kick. She recovered, screamed, and rushed at him.

Frost twisted back, energy flowing around his fist as his own perceptions stretched, and he locked eyes with Maia over his shoulder. With a snap and rush of power, Frost was twisted into the end of his punch, his right arm out to the left, away from the friends he was protecting, and Maia was flying to the far end of the hall amid a trail of crackling power.

Moaning, Frost fell to all-fours, looking over as Maia flipped over, crashing to a halt. She managed to stand, but was obviously barely remaining on her feet, her own chest heaving around the shadow gem embedded in it.

Sig and the others aimed again, Seem barely keeping herself from running to Frost’s side. In the end, however, they didn’t have to do anything further. A pure light filled the hall, Frost averting his eyes, already aware of who it was.

Light Jak rose from his crouch in the center of the hall, Keira in his arms, Daxter on his shoulder, and turned, facing Maia. He let Keira down, who stood at his side calmly, staring Maia down along with her love. Light Jak stood in his usual calm, focused manner, his wings radiant and calm. “Retreat.”

Maia’s expression shivered with rage, but she calmed herself. “This isn’t remotely over, hero. I survived your light eco before. I’ll finish the job next time we meet.” She gave one last glance down to Frost, between Keira and Jak. “Good luck, Frost. We’ll meet again before the end.”

She grinned darkly at Jak, and then shot into the air, rushing away from the city.

Jak reverted to normal, sagging over himself as the others collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Frost eased, breathing at the ground as he let his eyes close, catching his breath. When a gentle touch weighted upon his shoulder, he instantly looked up with soft surprise. His expression became gently wistful as he looked into Seem’s eyes, the monk crouching beside him.

“Are you injured?” she asked gently.

Frost shook his head faintly. “Just tired… Seem, I…” he trailed off as she shook her head.

“I only said the truth, you need not thank me for it. You protected us all once again.”

Sig stepped up with Ashelin, Tess, and Torn. “No kidding, chili-pepper. That was some fight. You held up for us when it really counted, kid.”

Frost only looked down in embarrassment at all their attention, Jak, Keira, and Daxter coming over.

“Daxter!” Tess yelled, tackling him to the ground. Her exclamations of worry and his attempts at calming her down droned on behind them as Jak and Keira stopped near the resting warrior.

“I owe you one, Frost,” Jak said sincerely, offering his hand.

Seem eased back with a gentle smile as Frost reached up, shaking Jak’s hand.

“Just… helping out…”

Jak shook his head. “If you hadn’t shown up, I couldn’t have gone after Keira.”

Keira crouched down as well. “Thank you, Frost.”

He just gave her a gentle smile, shaking his head. “Just helping…”

Ashelin nodded at the small group. “Still, I think we need to get you two to bed.”

Jak looked to Keira with a gentle smile. “No kidding. You must be totally worn out after all that… I’m sorry I wasn’t faster…”

Keira just nudged his shoulder. “Don’t even start. You rescued me soon enough. But, yeah… I’m pretty tired…” she looked down a bit more seriously.

Sig nodded back to the steps. “Come on. Fresh rooms for both of ya.”

“Thank you, Sig,” Keira replied lightly, rising with Jak’s gently supportive hands around her shoulders, starting to walk back with the others to the stairs.

Frost started to rise as well. “Yes… thank you, King Sig,” he managed quietly.

Sig was about to help himself, but smiled as Seem gently wrapped her hands around Frost’s shoulders, and helped him straighten up. The monk seemed quite calm, but Sig could tell Frost was blushing under his dark skin as the young woman helped him walk toward the stairs.

Practically alone together as they started up the stairs, Frost glanced down to Seem’s face as she helped him walk, her hands softly bracing his arms, helping him stay upright more easily. “…It was very kind of you to say those things, Seem…”

She bowed her head, as if just looking at the steps, but was hiding the pained conflict in her eyes. “I saw you react to some of her words, and I did not want you to think so ill of yourself. If I…” she cut herself off quietly, looking further aside.

If he’d missed it before, he caught the pain in her manner this time. His expression fell with sympathy, and he stopped. Seem paused with him, but kept her face down.

“…Seem, what is wrong?”

“…I… started to say something I shouldn’t have. Please let me dismiss it…”

There was such a deep pleading in her voice that he had no hesitation. “Of course, but… you seem very hurt… Did I—?”

“No!” she replied instantly. “It was nothing you did. I am struggling with something in myself, and in this dark time, I can not afford to waste my effort on it. Please, let me help you to a bed, you must be very weary.”

He went with her gesture to keep walking, but looked down gravely himself. After a few minutes, however, she looked back to him, and their eyes met. She seemed calmer, more peaceful, as was usual for her. She offered a gentle smile. “You are not unworthy of affection, Frost. You are a very good man. Please do not let your enemies convince you otherwise in their jealousy.”

She could see the shocked embarrassment in his eyes, and so she simply looked ahead, helping him walk. “The room is not far,” she added as they moved over the end of the steps.

Frost finally looked back down. “Y-yes… thank you…”

He did not realize that, as they walked, she was looking away with a faint blush herself.

* * *

Maia dropped to her feet near Jalnoth on the cliffs far South of the city. She set her hands on her hips, looking down at him as he crawled back onto the top of the cliffs. “I think someone has been knocked off his high horse…”

“I would not consider your own failure a foundation for criticizing mine,” Jalnoth retorted flatly, rising to his feet in front of her.

Before she could respond, however, they both crashed to the rocks, their shadow-gems surging with energy. Even Jalnoth screeched in pain…

Maia sprang to her feet… in the same darkness as when the Darken had contacted her. Jalnoth picked himself up on her right, and they both looked into the darkness beyond. Maia was frozen, her eyes shivering with fear as she felt _it_ coming closer again.

The massive clusters of glowing crimson flared to life in front of them, Jalnoth cowering down into a low, submissive posture, Maia falling to all-fours herself, hoping it would not wash over her as it had before.

The thought-shattering voice returned to her mind, and she constricted toward the ground. _I am disappointed. Obviously more than one war-master was called for. That a single creature, however strengthened by the Precursors, should halt you both is most… taxing._

It continued without seeming to notice their submissive postures. _I am close now,_ Maia quivered at his words _, and so we shall strike as one. Maia,_ he focused upon her completely, the woman gasping as her heart constricted on itself. _Since you have failed my task for you completely, you will simply serve as a war-master in the coming invasion. Jalnoth and yourself are of equal rank now. And as such…_

Maia’s eyes widened, and she looked up at him. “No! Please! I will do as you say, but please don’t—!”

She cut herself off with her own scream, black energy blasting into her chest and engulfing her body. Her eyes were the last part of her form to be consumed, and they were gazing upward in horror, tears sparking with energy rushing out of them… before darkness consumed her completely.

_You belong to me…_


	12. Fulfillment

He was looking down at his hands in awe. They were normal, his old pale skin, the same creases and even the small scar on his thumb. The horrible talons were gone, the onyx skin, the pain from the energy… Looking up, he wasn’t sure what was happening, nor was he thinking clearly. He had the vague notion that something was wrong with what he was seeing, but he simply couldn’t quite put his finger on it. There was a tree in front of him, and he was sitting on soft grass some distance from it. A high wall loomed on his right, and a road was off to the left, just lightly smoothed dirt amidst the grass.

A young woman, quite beautiful with her soft, if pinched, features, long ears, and soft-brown, long hair, was kneeling with another man, who had shorter hair of similar color, attired casually, and two young children were with them, a boy and girl, the boy the older of the two, seeming about ten, the girl possibly seven or eight. They were adorable together, all smiling, the woman gently giggling as the man kissed her cheek and pulled her down into a hug with his arms as she walked just behind him on her knees to reach for something in a… picnic basket.

Then the woman looked up, across the blanket, and smiled sweetly at him, his normal hands finally dropping. “Frost, is something wrong?” she asked when she realized he didn’t seem happy.

He was just looking at her, for some reason sorrow and joy equally powerful in his heart, his eyes stinging with tears… and some, strange, sharp pain. “…Nadia…” he just muttered, but then panic seized him as the woman, her husband, and their children jerked with fright, the scene turning dark, the tree and grass vanishing with the rest of the world.

Frost surged up, diving for them as Dark Eco came boiling up, coiling around them from below and the endless shadows beyond. Nadia screamed, reaching as her children were yanked away, and then her husband, her eyes flooding, tears streaming down her face as she started to slip back into the shadows as well. Frost screamed as well. “ _Nadia!_ NO!”

His voice warped, and he stared in horror as his hands contorted into black claws, more horrible and layered in carapace than ever. He looked up, seeing her stare back in renewed horror… just before purple-red lightning exploded off his hands, slamming into her body like a Zoomer at full speed. The woman’s voice gurgled and went silent in the most sickening manner, her body snapping around the point of impact too perfectly to not have shattered her bones, her body vanishing into the darkness.

The power vanished, silence reigned… and then he screamed, grabbing his head and snapping as his entire body rammed the sound out of his distorted voice, into the air as his back arched violently. His hands faintly came away, Frost still screaming, and he looked down, to see Seem… in his claws, her expression etched with sympathy as it always was while his claws were locked around her upper-arms. He didn’t know why he was holding her, or why he was suddenly on his feet, but he was still weeping for his sister, her family. “S-Seem…!”

Red eyes flared as Seem screamed, jerking as dark power crackled over her body in a raging storm of pain, her skin and clothing beginning to sear and blacken. He couldn’t let go! He was killing her, the poor woman screaming… so like his sister… and he couldn’t let her go! He stared down in manic horror himself. “…No….” he breathed, her body finally falling lifelessly from his claws. “No!” he shouted.

“ _SEEM!_ ”

His eyes exploded open, energy crackling and rushing all over his face, down his arms, over his body as he burst upright. Frost was panting, sitting on a bed in the Spargus City palace, his jaw hanging open, revealing his sharpened teeth and black tongue as he tried collect his scattered mind and broken heart, the energy just beginning to fade from sizzling and arcing over his body. Parts of the bed-covers were actually smoking.

At last he sagged, holding his head in his hands, folding over himself. He couldn’t help tears trickling down his face, dripping off his cheeks amid crackling energy. The pain didn’t make him wince as the energy surged through his eyes. He couldn’t contain the weeping, quiet and still as it was.

He jerked when the door knocked rapidly.

“Frost? …Frost!?” Seem’s naturally rasped but urgent voice called through the door.

His head snapped up, his expression shocked and meek at once as his claws fell into his lap.

Outside, her expression a haunting mirror of the very sympathy and concern Frost had seen in his nightmare, Seem lingered at the door, finally striking it with her right hand, keeping the hand flat instead of turning a knuckle to the door. “Please answer. I am very—!” She cut herself off as the door pulled open with a rush of air.

Though her urgency faded, it was replaced with more grave concern as she looked at the darkened man in front of her. One claw was on the door, his right, but his body was faintly hunched over, and his mouth was somewhat agape as he breathed, the obvious signs of tears on his face, energy still faintly crackling down his cheeks with the faint traces of water. Seem’s head tilted to the side, her eyes tightening. “What has happened?” she asked softly. “I only heard you scream…”

His lips finally closed with some relief. She’d apparently not heard _what_ he screamed. He exhaled smoothly, closing his eyes for a moment, and answered, “Nothing has happened. I apologize for alarming you.”

He had never been so secretive to her before. It was his right, but it worried her even further. “Frost, please. I am very worried for you.”

When he looked down to the side, she started to reach out softly. Seem froze, startled, when he rushed back from her hand, both of his own coming up near his face as if recoiling from a burning pot.

Frost’s stance melted painfully. “…I apologize,” he breathed out tightly, his expression constricting around closed eyes as he kept his taut, open claws down at his sides. “I don’t want you to be hurt…”

Thinking it was simply his old concern acting over his current pain, Seem pressed a little closer in the doorway. “Frost, you have never—!”

“ _That doesn’t mean I won’t!_ ” he snapped in a low, rasping rush, cutting her off, his entire body shivering as his claws finally twisted into fists.

Seem did ease back, alarmed at how delicate his situation actually was. She could see faint arcs of energy starting to snap off his shoulders, claws, and feet. Focusing on the man rather than his power, she realized he was breathing heavily, and slowly looking up at her with the most guilty expression she had ever seen on his face.

“You…” he started slowly, his voice low, “have always been kind to me, Seem. I am… I can not say how sorry I am for startling you like this, but if my b… if I harmed you—ever—I do not know how I could live with myself.”

Finally realizing some of what had happened, Seem looked at him emphatically. “But you have never made that mistake, Frost!” her voice was not loud, but clear. “You have always kept the energies restrained, and you have never acted inappropriately around me or even Keira. Why are you so afraid now? Please, Frost, I am… I would like to believe I am your friend. May I not be one to you now?”

There was so much empathetic pain in her eyes, so much concern… _for him_. Frost couldn’t stand it, his eyes ripping up to the ceiling as fresh, crackling tears started trickling down his cheeks. Seem’s fear and heartache only grew, and his eyes finally squeezed shut, his head remaining tilted back. “…You are the best friend I have ever had, Seem…” he managed through a powerfully tight throat, his unnatural undertone more exaggerated, making him sound completely inhuman.

“Then please do not hide from me,” she pleaded gently, her eyes tightening as her head tilted.

His eyes opened down into hers, his head finally bowing again. He just looked at her, Seem gazing into the powerful mixture of pain, confusion, and fondness. It was starting to make her own fears build in her throat, constricting, making her feel short of breath, but frustrating her as her mind raced to help her friend.

“You are never offended by my actions…” Frost whispered.

Seem offered a gentle smile. “Your actions toward me, since we’ve met, have all been to protect me.”

His head sank completely, but his frame was relaxing. “…I had a nightmare…”

It confirmed her guess, but she remained silent and attentive.

Frost seemed to gain some awareness of his surroundings, and paused awkwardly, looking back into his room from the hall behind her. “D-do… you want to come inside?” he asked her, sincerely unsure as he gestured back into the room with his left side. Apparently seeing her stuck in the hall bothered him.

Seem only tipped her head, and flowed inside around him. Frost just closed the door, and then rapidly pulled away from it, toward his bed in the left wall, leaving her a free path back to the exit as she faced him. He took a moment to regain his train of thought, control his embarrassment and sorrow, and continued. “I saw my sister and her family. We were together in the gardens of Haven City. Then darkness came, and when I tried to save her…” he looked down at his right claw, and Seem was worried by the sincere hatred in his eyes, energy starting to crackle over his glowing pools and the claw at once.

Closing the fist and relaxing, he looked back to her, seeming to ease more as she came into focus. “My power killed my sister, and then…” He watched Seem’s eyes tighten in controlled curiosity, and then growing concern, perhaps anxiety, as she realized how he was looking at her. He swallowed, tightening his fists, and managed, “…and then I couldn’t stop myself from killing you…” He exhaled, looking down.

Deep empathy waved over her features. “Frost… you would never allow that to happen. You know this was your sub-conscious acting out your very fear of this happening.”

His eyes were squeezing tighter each moment.

Preparing herself for whatever might happen, determined not to shrink away from him even if all of his energies exploded at once in her face, Seem glided up to him, and reached out, gently pressing her hand to his chest. He gasped, but she remained still, and nothing attacked her from his body, his open eyes staring down into nothing around her arm.

“Your heart, your mind… they are yours, Frost. Your body can not control them if you do not let it, nor can your power, nor the darkness that gave it to you, nor the Metal-Heads themselves,” Seem listed off with calm focus, her gentle, rasping voice powerful. “You did not kill your sister or her family. You would have done anything for her, for them. You gave your life for others, have been willing to nearly as many times as we have met.” She paused, fearing her intensity would frighten him in his vulnerable state. Softening her voice to a gentle whisper, she finished, “You loved your sister.”

The strangest moan leaked from his closed lips, almost like a hurt animal, and Seem’s mouth fell agape as he simply sank to his knees in front of her, slipping past her hand, which hung awkwardly in the air above him for a heart-beat as he looked up into her shocked eyes with completely normal tears dripping down his face. “I don’t want to hurt anyone I love…” he gasped, a sob almost breaking over his frame.

Seem’s expression fell with empathetic sorrow, her own eyes actually watering. Already close, his slipping to his knees nearly pushed them together as he looked up at her face, and so she just lowered her arms behind his head, wrapping her right hand gently behind the sharp layers of his head-carapace. “You will not, if you so choose, Frost.”

He let his head sink forward at her words, just resting it against her armor. Seem, however, was looking down, past him with almost panicked fear on her face. This was what she wanted… she wanted to give him peace, comfort him… she didn’t want him to push her away. She didn’t want to _push him_ away!

She snapped her eyes shut. _Stop! How dare I be so selfish. This man is heart-broken, on his knees, in front of me, and all I can think of is how much I enjoy being the one here. This is cruel. I am not being just to him._ Her eyes slowly opened, and she looked down at him, who was like a frightened child, and gently patted his head, careful not to cut her hand on the edges of his armor.

Frost let his eyes stay shut, finally relaxing, his body calming from the nightmare. “…You’re the only one who can do this… Thank you.”

Seem had to close her eyes, clenching her jaw. At last, she couldn’t help her hand pausing as she shivered. She inhaled sharply when Frosts’ left claw came up, and very softly wrapped around her forearm, just below her wrist as he finally eased back, looking up at her.

“You’re trembling…?” Gentle concern took hold of his façade as he looked up into her guilt-ridden expression, her hands frozen where they were. “Seem what is wrong?” he asked more directly, letting go of her arm and rising to his feet, pulling him a little further from her.

 _I should have contained my emotions better, I should have directed them more appropriately. Now he is worried._ She calmed her expression, and bowed gently, gesturing with her hand, not speaking until she was upright again. “You have done nothing wrong, Frost…”

His expression was calmly incredulous, the glowing crimson gaze tightened. “I overstepped your boundaries. …I am very sorry.”

Seem shook her head. “No, Frost. You did not. I am… having emotional difficulties in recent weeks, and your sorrow… Selfishly I was reminded of my own troubles while you sought my support. You did nothing wrong. It is I who must apologize.” She was as honest as she could believe possible, and bowed again.

“…If you have done any wrong to me, I don’t see it, but you have my forgiveness.”

She straightened, looking at him with gentle guilt remaining in her eyes.

He tilted his head down to the side, seeming to appraise her. “I can only assume that asking to be a support for you _would_ overstep your boundaries?”

It was an escape readily presented. Seem slowly nodded. “I do not think that would help either of us properly at this time, Frost.”

He accepted her answer with a deep bow of his head, but she could easily see the pain it caused him, and made her heart-ache all the worse. Before he could speak again, she straightened, and he focused on her. “You are not a monster, Frost. I do not think so, and I very much appreciate your friendship. You have been at my side when I needed you most already. You have saved the lives of those,” her voice ever-so-faintly stuttered, “whom I love more than once. Please don’t feel yourself a failure because I must face some difficulty on my own. I am certain there are things with which I can not help you.”

Frost smiled gently for her. “Thank you for saying that, Ms. Monk.” He would never realize how much his saying his nick-name for her twisted through her heart like a hot knife. “You do seem to make my problems go away with your presence, however.”

Seem had to force her usual smile at his normally endearing kindness. It was becoming torture for her, and he was only making it worse with each comment. “I find that difficult to believe. I am just a Precursor Monk, Frost.”

It was the pain in her eyes she was trying to hide that made Frost realize he was doing something wrong. Something had changed. He kept his expression steady, and then smiled gently. “As you say it,” he finally replied with a playful bow.

Relief did appear to wash over her, and she smiled more easily back. “Then I will leave you to your privacy, Frost.” She started for the door, and he made no move to stop her, simply smiling back.

However, the door gave an abrupt knock, freezing Seem and turning Frost with surprise. It started to open, a gentle, curious voice coming through. “Frost?” it was Keira. “I’m sorry to bother you, but Sig, Jak, and the others want to hold a strategy meeting. Oh, and we can’t find Seem, she must’ve…”

The door had swung open enough, Keira just reaching out to pull it back (it had apparently slipped out of her hand as she was leaning lightly against the frame with one hand and one foot on the ground), but she saw Seem standing there, Frost further back, both completely astounded. She blinked, staring at Seem, who was starting to blush so powerfully under her makeup that she could already feel sweat starting to form beneath her clothing. Keira realized the poor monk looked like a deer in head-lights, completely shocked.

“W-well, I didn’t mean to just burst into your room, Frost, I’m really sorry,” Keira managed first, nodding to Frost. “Seem, uh… well, you heard, so… please come if you can.”

Seeing her start to leave, the blue-green-haired girl blushing powerfully herself, Seem tried to speak, her mind scrambling to explain what she was doing, feeling completely self-conscious. Frost glided past her, however, and caught the door, smiling for Keira.

“Sorry, Keira. Don’t worry about it. Seem just came to check on me, and we were just finishing our conversation.”

Seem blinked at his back. Though he could’ve been covering for his own sake, she had the sinking feeling he had only thought to spare her the embarrassment of the situation. Keira, meanwhile, giggled gently, shaking her head. “No, no, it’s fine. I just hate barging in on people like that. It’s really rude. I know how I would’ve felt in the hangar… b-bay…” she was turning scarlet as she realized Seem was still there, and so tried to recover with a fresh laugh. “Anyway! I’ll be at the meeting, too! Hope you two can come!” she put her hands together, gesturing back to him with all her fingers and a nervous smile… and promptly took off.

Frost chuckled gently, fully opening the door, and moving out into the hall before he even looked back to Seem. “Will you come to the meeting, Ms. Monk?”

It was so clearly just his reference for her this time that she could more easily flow with it, and came out of the room herself. “Yes, thank you.”

They started walking, and she started to blush very gently before uttering, “Thank you…”

“For what?”

They shared a look, and she saw straight through his mildly put-on ignorance. They just shared a soft smile, equally sincere, and continued down the hall.

* * *

In the throne room, Sig was seated appropriately, and the others stood near and around him. Jak stood with Keira, Daxter and Tess down beside them, on Sig’s immediate right. Wrapping around the landing, leaving a gap for the path leading to the throne, were Samos, Onin with Pecker, Ashelin, Torn, and Kleiver with none other than the altered, ottsel-form Count Veger on his shoulder. The would-be tyrant now resembled a frightened rat, his fur a bit darker than Daxter or Tess’, and Kleiver’s temper well known to him after just under a year of acquaintance. The tall, rotund Wastelander was Sig’s right-hand (though he stood to his left…) man, his large eyes generally sharpened with some scheme or deal in mind, the top of his head bald, an intricate scar down the left side of his forehead and the temple, with a thick mass of gold hair running down around the sides, and a thick mustache that drooped down around his mouth. Veger, ottsel that he was, wore a vest over a filly white shirt, all that remained of his original attire. At least Daxter and Tess had pants.

“I think Frost is coming. I don’t know for sure about Seem,” Keira explained to Sig, having just returned herself.

“Did you find her?” Sig asked easily.

Keira blushed a bit, but smiled nervously. “Yes, yes. I told her.”

Even Torn and Ashelin were a bit perplexed at the woman’s nervousness, but then they heard the throne room’s elevator activate, and turned their attention back to it. Rising into view were Frost and Seem together, the Metal-Head leader letting her step through first, and then they both stepped up onto the landing with the others. Frost saluted to Ashelin and Torn, but they waved him down to relax him, and so he simply shared Seem’s bow to the group.

Daxter grinned. “You two are a little late. Have some fun on the way?”

Seem’s eyes burnt a hole into the ground ahead of her feet, her face turning uncomfortably hot.

Frost, however, fixed such a frightful glare on the small ottsel that Daxter hid behind Jak’s leg instantly. “She’s a monk, Daxter. That’s unbelievably rude.”

Seem wanted to just collapse, spare herself this anguish. She felt like anything but a monk for the last few minutes.

Jak reached down and swatted his friend across the ears. “Geez, no kidding, Daxter. Give it a rest with Seem, alright?”

Keira, however, was watching Seem with some concern. The poor monk almost looked empty. Then she saw Seem calm herself, and straighten her posture, very much back to normal… visibly.

The monk said, “I apologize for our lateness. Please continue.”

Sig nodded, everyone focusing back to the issue at hand. “We know the Precursors are on their way, but we need to be ready before they get here. Problem is, we just don’t know how the enemy will come at us, or where they’ll strike the hardest.”

Torn had his arms crossed, and shifted his weight to his right foot as he answered. “If they come from the desert toward Spargus, we should lay out a full front-line with all our forces. I figure we’re just buying time for someone to take out the Darken core, because actually killing off a big force of those critters doesn’t sound too realistic.”

Frost tilted his head. “We can do our best, however. Using heavy artillery, we can destabilize their formations, and start picking them off as needed.”

Torn smirked at his former subordinate. “Always did like how you think, Frost.”

The darkened warrior actually smiled back, nodding.

Seem swallowed quietly, and spoke up herself. “I sense the Darken is preparing a full attack. I am not sure if we will be assaulted by Maia or her comrade again before the last battle.”

Samos turned to Frost abruptly, the former guard raising his eye-ridges. “Frost, we meant to ask you. Earlier today the Metal-Heads seemed agitated, some almost appearing to go into seizures. Is there anything we need to know?”

At first Frost was puzzled quite sincerely, but then his eyes hollowed. “O-oh… That was…”

Seem realized what had happened, and came to his aid. “His rest was disturbed, and the Metal-Heads reacted to it. They were only empathizing with their leader, Samos,” she finished with a gentle bow.

Frost just nodded, looking down.

Everyone was a bit troubled, Jak eyeing Frost and Seem with concern, but it was Veger who hopped down to the ground, already animated and alarmed.

“You can’t seriously be considering allying with those abominations! Look! They’ve already proved unstable even under this creature’s control!”

Ashelin was about to snap at him when she froze, sharing an alarmed gaze with Torn, and then both focusing on Frost. The Metal-Head leader spoke before anyone else could. “It was a dream that disturbed me. I likely won’t need to sleep again until after the battle. The Metal-Heads are reliable.”

Jak was about to retort to Veger as well, but stopped himself, sharing a wary look with Keira, who realized, finally, what was wrong. Count Veger had caused the Haven City palace to collapse… and Frost didn’t know the ottsel in front of him was the same person.

Kleiver swept down, and scooped the smaller creature up in his free fist, the other holding his old blaster, as always. “Now what’d I tell ya about talkin’ out a-turn, Veger?”

Everyone stared at Kleiver in alarm, but Frost only tilted his head to the left… very slowly, his glowing eyes focused on Veger with the darkest coldness. “Veger…?”

Seem’s eyes tightened, but then she realized the connection herself, her expression flaring with alarm. She instantly reached up, gripping Frost’s left arm. “W-wait, please…”

But he wasn’t moving forward. Frost looked back to her calmly, fully in control of himself. Seem tipped her head to him, and pulled her hands down self-consciously. Frost gave her a faint smile, trying to make her feel less awkward, and then focused back on the ottsel as he was forced onto Kleiver’s shoulder.

“And what is it to you, you beast?” Veger protested, setting his paws on his hips.

“I’d say that was the pot calling the kettle black, but the metaphor doesn’t quite work in my case,” Frost said, emphasizing by raising his right claw, his black skin glistening. He lowered it, the others braced for an explosion, but he only spoke in a chilled, calm voice, his ethereal echo adding quite a bit to its intimidation. “My sister, her husband, and their two young children were murdered by the palace collapsing in Haven City. I think I have some excuse for considering you the abomination rather than myself, Veger.”

The ottsel hopped up and down, pointing at Frost. “Well if _you_ are any indication, they should have been wiped off the planet anyway!”

“Veger!” Jak snapped darkly.

This time everyone rounded on Veger, not necessarily minding if Frost blew the creature to small furry chunks. Seem jerked back from Frost in alarm, however, as energy crackled up and down his arms, out of his eyes, and his claws locked into ever-constricting fists, his arms shaking.

However, no one needed to act before Veger yelped, being zapped off Kleiver’s shoulder and suspended in the air. Everyone quickly focused back on none other than Onin, Pecker perched on her hat, her right hand pointing two fingers at Veger, sparkles swirling through the air and coalescing into a sphere around the ottsel. She started gesturing with her left hand, her expression dark. Pecker grinned as he interpreted. “You had best keep your own trap shut, Veger, or you will soon find yourself in need of my services.”

Kleiver was chuckling. “There’s a mystic for ya. I oughta learn that nice sparkly trick myself. Keep ya in line for your own good, ey?” He shook his fist at the trapped rodent, who squeaked in dismay.

Onin finally released him, and Kleiver pounded him across the face so hard as he landed that the small rodent was out cold on his back the next moment.

Frost calmed the energy around his body, and exhaled, raising a claw to his face. “…Sorry. I shouldn’t have let that get to me…”

Sig smirked. “If ya hadn’t, chili-pepper, I’d be _seriously_ worried about you.”

Keira smiled. “No kidding. He crossed the line with that last remark. I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

Frost just smiled back, shaking his head. As the others focused back on the task at hand, Jak bringing up some strategies for supporting the main gun-turret on the ocean-side of the city, Frost looked to Seem, standing quietly on his left, her head bowed, her hands clasped limply in front of herself. She almost seemed ashamed, trying to hide in plain sight.

Wincing with uncertainty, Frost eased his left claw up, and just touched her shoulder. She gave a start, and he snapped his hand back, but she looked up at him with curiosity. He didn’t have any words to use, but just looked at her with concern. At first, she seemed worried, but then smiled gently, tipped her head, and focused back to the matter at hand, more calm and focused, more like her usual self.

As Ashelin and Torn advised the others on exactly what their reinforcements were capable of (hellcats and troop-transports arriving since the previous day), Seem abruptly pressed her hand to her chest, and Onin turned her head to the side. Pecker and Seem spoke at once, “They have come.”

Sig and the others looked from the mystic to the monk and back, until Seem finally explained, “The Precursors. They are here!” hope and happiness were blossoming across her face.

Onin gestured rapidly, Pecker exclaiming, “Out in the main city, near the gate to the desert!”

Sig rose up. “Let’s go greet ‘em!”

Onin started to rise up as the others hurried to the lift, but Frost swept closer to her, and picked her up in his arms. The mystic seemed startled, but then smiled at him. Frost just tipped his head, and carried onto the lift, the last to step on… just after Seem, who had lingered for him. With a loud, mechanical bang, they were on their way down.

* * *

Jak, Keira, Samos, and the others quickly ran out from under the rocky tunnel between the two halves of the city. A shadow had fallen over the Eastern half, and looking up, they were all finding it easy to smile. The tall, glistening Precursor ship was radiant in the day’s sun, the visible piping, glowing ports, and coppery metal as bright and clear as ever as the massive ship lowered down with a deep moan thundering through the city below. It halted without effort, idly turning at a slow speed.

Sig led the swift jog down to the city area below the ship, the Wastelanders around the city gathering, but leaving a large area beneath the floating ship (since it seemed it might crash down abruptly on the ever=practical desert people). Frost and Seem were last, the Metal-Head leader gently setting Onin down.

Before he could rise back up, she held his arms, and focused her blank eyes up into his own. He remained attentive, actually going down to one knee. Onin smiled at him, and faintly nodded to his left. He glanced there, realizing she meant Seem, who was gazing up at the massive ship, and looked back to Onin with surprise and embarrassment. Her hands began to glow gently as they held his arms, and he heard a subtle, ancient voice in his mind.

_Your respect for her gives you strength. More than it does with the others. Do not despair in yourself, or you will cause her greater pain._

Frost had no response, his dark mouth hanging open awkwardly, shocked at her ‘words’. Onin just nodded meaningfully, and finally let go, remaining in her usual posture on the ground, noticing that Frost had found a small mat before setting her down. Frost finally stood up, his mind starting to recover from the strange interaction, and looked up himself.

Jak, with Daxter just hopping up to his shoulder, stood by Keira, Tess down in front of them, with Sig and Samos on either side, the others lingering a little behind them, Frost keeping himself the most distant. He was relieved, for her sake, that Seem hadn’t noticed his distance yet.

Rather than landing the ship to get out, as everyone expected initially, the Precursors used another method of getting down on the ground. There was a blinding flash of light… and when it had faded, there stood the three Precursors that guided Jak against the Dark Makers. In the center stood the rotund leader, his white, layered robes as clean and radiant as ever, his Precursor staff held at his right side, the glowing, golden ovoid coiled within a tendril of the coppery metal at the top, almost the size of his orange, brown-bearded, furry head. On his left stood the lankier, almost unstable surfer-like Precursor, attired in a tunic and pants of the same pure white, his eyes lop-sidedly open as he smirked constantly. And on the right was the … dummy. His armored helmet covered his eyes, his buck-teeth stuck out, and he swayed from side-to-side, grinning at some private joke the whole time.

The leader, fortunately, spoke first. “Mar, friends. Though it is a troubling time, it is good to see you all again.”

Jak tipped his head, the others bowing or showing nods of respect. Frost pulled back a bit, bowing, and only rose up when he was sure everyone else was. The green-blonde-haired hero stepped forward with Daxter. “We’ve been pulling all our resources to this city. What should we do now?”

The chubby ottsel grinned. “Come inside with us, and we will discuss the coming battle.”

Daxter pointed up. “You mean… in that thing?”

The leader gave him a dry stare, and nodded. Then he raised his staff toward the ship, and the entire group vanished with another blast of light.

They appeared in a round, tall chamber crafted entirely of Precursor metals, but with contoured, round, softly cushioned chairs around a large, circular table in the center, a glowing hemisphere in the center of the broad surface. Everyone started to sit down as the three Precursors did so, their seats elevating them automatically to clear views over the table. Tess and Daxter each found the same happened for them, and the shorter members of the group were elevated just enough to be on par with the tallest. Frost was between Seem and Onin (Pecker on her hat), a bit meek as he tried not to move or accidentally unleash some of his energy. He already felt weak in the Precursors’ presence.

Kleiver had the unconscious Veger on his shoulder, on the end of Sig, Ashelin, and Torn, who sat to the Precursors’ left. Across Onin, Frost, and Seem were Tess, Daxter, Samos, Keira, and Jak.

The leader pointed his staff at the table, and the hemisphere emitted a full model of their world, zooming out, and showing a large, dark mass rushing toward it. “The Darken itself will reach this planet tomorrow,” he began gravely. “They will target this city first, because we have come here, and remain their greatest threat from this world.”

The surfer started up, gesturing out with both hands, “And then he, like, totally spreads out from the initial attack point. Takes over the whole world, man. Majorly bad.”

The leader twitched, and nodded. “Exactly. That is how we will strike. The Darken only leaves himself vulnerable for a short time between his arrival and his actually consuming the planet. That is why he sends the army, which is normally a very effective compensation for this weakness.”

Torn tilted his head down. “Then how are we gonna do any good… sir?” he finished awkwardly, not sure how to address the most powerful beings in the universe.

The leader smiled again. “We have weapons that greatly concern the Darken. Jak, here, is a true hero of the Precursors, and the Darken knows that. The plan is simple. The full resources available to us will hold off the army, while Jak is sent to deal with the Darken itself. Jak is the core of the plan, and he is the only one who can do it. We must make it so he can survive getting to the Darken’s core, and the rest of you must fend off the Darken’s forces.”

Everyone, especially Keira, was looking to Jak with concern. He was grave, but nodded slowly. “The light powers you gave me… that’s why I can fight him.”

The leader nodded. “Exactly, Mar… Jak. It will not be an easy battle, but I assure you, you have the power to defeat that monster. We will make sure you get the chance, and help defend this city during the battle.”

“I’m with you,” Jak confirmed calmly.

Keira looked down anxiously, but knew he had made the right decision.

The leader then turned his focus the table as a whole. “Now we may be able to weaken the Darken’s forces while they are on this world, but we can not simply wipe it out for you. Your warriors are necessary if this world is to survive.”

Sig tipped his head. “The Wastelanders are on board.”

Ashelin added, “So is Haven City. We’ve already moved every available guard and hellcat out here.”

Frost finally spoke. “…And the Metal-Heads will be on your side this time as well.”

The leader focused on Frost with another strange smile as he spoke. “Ah yes. We are most pleased to see you, Frost.”

He blinked. “You are…?”

Seem was attentively looking from her friend to the Precursors and back along with the others.

The leader continued. “Oh yes. Though… Jak ended the threat of the Hora-Quan, you have made them allies. You have disciplined your dark powers as much as can be asked of you, for the sake of your world. There is more than one hero in this room, Frost.”

“Yeah, we, like, didn’t even see you coming. Right on, man,” the surfer interjected.

“Yay!” exclaimed the dummy with a broad swing of his arms.

Frost was melting under the attention, especially the grins from his friends, and the gentle smile Seem was giving him at his side. “I… am glad I can help…”

The leader nodded, and tapped his staff on the table. “Which brings us to the details of your strategy. Each of your leaders,” he gestured to Sig, Ashelin and Torn, and Frost, “have reliable tactical minds, and we have much to prepare ourselves. May we let you plan the details of your defense yourselves while we do so? The Darken will strike from the desert-side of the city. He always preferred starting on land.”

The whole group shared looks, Keira looking down thoughtfully as she considered her own options, and then Samos looked up to the Precursors. “We can handle it. Thank you.”

The leader bowed. “Then we shall be on this ship, if you need us.” He raised his staff, and with a flash, they were back on the ground.

Jak looked to Sig, Frost, Ashelin, and Torn specifically. “Mind if I sit in on the planning?”

Sig grinned. “All the help we can get organizing this. Come on, we’ve got a meeting chamber in the palace. You’ve all got some input, I’m sure. Even Daxter might have something useful to add.”

When Daxter puffed up with a grin, everyone laughed or smiled as they moved toward the palace save Tess, who hugged him comfortingly.

* * *

Sig stood at the head of a long table with a painted map of the city and the deserts to the South across its top. Jak, Keira, Samos, Onin with Pecker, Daxter, Tess, Ashelin, Torn, Frost, Kleiver, and even Seem were all there. Torn was pointing to the defending wall around the buggy garage, drawing his finger up and down its length. “If they’re coming from the desert, we should keep our forces organized here. Our guards and hellcats are good for general purpose combat, but melee gives ‘em trouble.”

Sig nodded. “Same with Wastelanders. We’re generally riflemen of some kind.” He jabbed his finger at the garage itself. “We can send dune-buggies out for support, a good, mobile, medium scale artillery resource.”

“And support them with the hellcats from above,” Ashelin agreed with a nod.

Frost finally spoke up. “I think the Metal-Heads can be most effective on the front and back lines. My long-range forces can fire from the back, and act as a last-defense wall if necessary, while the smaller types take on the initial rush, the rest of our forces supporting them with longer-range fire.”

Jak looked up at him with concern. “I don’t like putting your side in the most dangerous part of the defense, Frost. It should be better mixed.”

Frost shook his head. “Metal-Heads are the best melee forces we have, it’s the right move, I think.” He gave Jak a faint smile. “I appreciate the thought, though.”

Keira finally pointed to the desert herself. “I’ll use the desert Zoomer, patrol the forward rank areas. I can offer some support from above, and my Zoomer is faster than a hellcat.”

Jak looked at her urgently. “K-Keira, I can’t let you go out there…” he trailed off as she looked at him firmly.

Crossing her arms, she replied, “You’re going to fight the source of these things on your own. You’re in no position to give me a hard time about putting myself in dangerous situations to save the world.” She smirked, “Besides, just think of it as further incentive for you to kick that Darken’s kiester all the faster.”

Sig nodded. “She’s right, Jak. We need all the support we can get, and one good sand-storm will force the hellcats to retreat behind the city walls. Having even a little air-support could make the difference in key skirmishes on the main line. You know that.”

Ashelin nodded. “And she’s the best pilot for it. Keira’s the best call.”

Tess hopped up and down. “I’ll man the guns for her!”

Keira grinned. “That’s a great idea, Tess. Thank you.”

Daxter set his hands on his hips. “Hey! What about ME!?”

Jak ‘patted’ his friend on the back, almost knocking him flat with a dry smirk. “You’ll be with me, Dax.”

The ottsel twitched. “With you? Fighting that… _thing_!?”

“You’re Tess’ hero, after all.”

Tess pointed up at Jak. “Don’t go baiting my fuzzy-wuzzy, Jak, or I’ll make you regret taking him along.”

Jak leaned down, ‘whispering’ conspiratorially to her. “Just a little scared myself, Tess. Need the back-up, you know?”

Amused, but hiding it, she looked off with crossed arms and the subtle ghost of a smile. “Alright, I suppose that’s excusable.”

Though glad to be informed of the plans, Seem realized she was of little use. She had done what she could to warn them, offer her support, but it was time for the warriors to take command. They knew what was coming, had all the support they could hope for, and knew what to do.

When Frost leaned forward to add something to the conversation, she let her eyes focus on him again, feeling the conflict and heart-ache rising within her. As he finished his point, the others paused thoughtfully, and so she raised her chin to speak. “I thank you for allowing me to attend, but it is clear I am of little need here. I shall go meditate. Perhaps I will perceive something useful.” She bowed, gestured to everyone as she whispered in the lyrical, rhythmic language of the desert, and smiled gently to their farewells. Frost, especially, offered a gentle smile, tipping his head to her. She still, however, saw a hidden sadness in his eyes at her departure. She turned, and left through the large door.

When the door shut, Ashelin looked over to the darkened warrior. “You alright, Frost?”

He focused on her, not realizing Onin was focused on him as well. Smiling faintly, he nodded. “Fine, thank you.” Looking down to the map, he gestured to the garage, “I think placing a few dune-runners here should act as a formidable defense…” And they continued to discuss their plans.

* * *

Though she could feel the darkness closing in on her, on the world, though she could feel the calming power of the Precursors in the city, Seem could barely focus her mind. She sat in her chamber in the palace, on her bed, her legs crossed, hands in her lap, eyes closed. As she tried to focus on the Darken, no sooner had the dark chill begun to seize her heart, than she saw a flash of Frost’s gently fearful expression as he offered to help her up onto a Metalpede. The great peace and power of the Precursors brought his gentleness in healing the lone Leaper to her mind, and the submissive, docile behavior of the Metal-Heads at the temple… his protection of the monks and herself at the temple before-hand… and also at the palace just the previous day.

Trying to focus on Maia, seeking to understand how she could become so hopelessly corrupted, she saw both Jak and Frost, their discipline and nobility in the face of immense darkness, darkness she would not want to face in her deepest nightmares. Maia’s jealousy of their life was clear to Seem as she thought, but the monk could not clear her mind of Frost’s guilty look as Maia attacked him for protecting them, or when she saw him just that day, after his nightmare… or him kneeling, in tears, at her feet.

Finally her eyes flared open, gently watered with tears of sympathy and pain. “The world is in danger of ending,” she breathed, “and I can only think of myself…” Her eyes closed again, her head bowing. _I do respect him, I do not regret that. I must not let it become a poison in my life. Am I so selfish…? Apparently. I am sorry, Frost… I have toyed with your heart. I swear it was not my intention… I only wished to help…_ Her shoulders sank, but finally her face sank into her hands, and she sobbed. That she could be so cruel to him, to her world, so selfish, was ripping into her heart much more deeply than the Darken or the dark presence in the desert. It came from her, and was thus far more destructive.

Her hands came down, pressing into her lap as she tried to calm her breathing, tears dripping down her cheeks. Her face paint did not run, too permanent and well-set to be threatened by tears. “Please…” she breathed, “help me… My mind is not clear…”

Seem’s eyes opened faintly, her mind shifting around her own words. “…Help…” she repeated thoughtfully. Her eyes rose ahead of her, to the door, and she was calmed by purpose. Her posture straightened, and she simply crawled off the bed, moving out of her room. The monk briskly moved through the palace, down into the city. She busily moved past the Wastelanders, visiting guards, and even Metal-Heads milling about casually, tipping her head in reciprocation to any greetings.

Soon, she was beneath the Precursor ship, looking up at it. She bowed, went to her knees, and put her hands together, whispering in the strange language once more. With a quiet rush of light, she was gone.

Seem paused, her eyes gently opening down at a glistening, metallic floor, matching her armor.

“What disturbs you, monk?”

She only then raised her eyes to see the Precursor leader standing on a floating platform in front of her. She was in the central command-center of their ship, but the other two Precursors were nowhere to be seen. Seem met his gaze, and quickly folded down, almost kowtowing completely. “Righteous maker, I seek your guidance.”

“Guidance for what?” the proper-tone was softened sincerely as he looked down at her. There was a curious humor in his eyes and a faint smile on his lips.

“I am conflicted between my vows and… personal desire. I am finding it most difficult to control myself properly, and I fear I have failed you. Please pardon my presumption, but I have so rarely had a chance to address one of our makers, I saw no better course of action. Please tell me how to act. If I should simply maintain myself through meditation, distance myself from… someone whom I have grown to… respect immensely, or if… I am sensing something more than just my selfishness.”

The leader lowered his platform, and spoke gently. “Tell me, exactly, what has conflicted you, little one.”

“Frost, my lord.” She continued in a low, emphatic plea. “He is noble, kind, and gentle. He controls the darkness within him, and blames only himself for his pain. I wished to comfort him, show him that he was still worthy of compassion, but I… I have grown attached to him deeply. He respects me, the choices I have made, but I can only think of how much I wish to be at his side, how much I wish to help him. I am afraid… I am afraid that I will never focus properly on my duties again. I look at my life without him… and I want to weep. I have allowed the honor of serving you to become a pain in my heart, if it is not to include him, but that is already a division, already a loss of devotion. I…” her throat constricted, “I have already betrayed my vows in my heart, and I am terrified.” Before he could reply, she looked up to the leader with tears in her eyes, “Must I cut myself away from him? Is that what must be done for me to become your servant again?”

The leader tilted his head to the side. “Would you do so if I said yes?”

Her expression waved with the most pitiful pain. “Yes…”

He leaned toward her. “Would your heart survive it?”

“Service can remake the heart… I must not let my selfishness guide my actions…” She believed it, but was forcing it from her lips as more sorrow engulfed her heart.

“Speak to me of him. What do you know is best for him?”

Seem’s eyes cleared a bit, and she answered, “Love and personhood. He fears he is destined to kill all he loves, but he doesn’t realize he would never allow it to happen. I thought finally revealing himself to his friends would do so, but he still seems so afraid of himself. I just…” she looked down, her eyes sealed shut, “I am pained for him, and beg for assistance to be given to him. I know pulling away from him will hurt him, but if…” she looked up at the leader, “if you help him, he will not be so deeply hurt. He is so understanding, perhaps he would forgive me in time, and be healed fully.”

The leader smiled gently, actually sitting down on his little lift, setting his staff across his lap. “You have always been one of our greatest servants, Seem.”

Her eyes wavered, her mouth agape.

“You have never allowed yourself to get in the way of your vows. Even now, you kneel before me ready to rip your own heart out for the greater good. You dismiss your arrogance, your desire to be the one who helps him, and have focused only on what is best for him, for others.” He smiled warmly. “You recall, that you promised yourself you would let your mind consider your conflict more deeply once your duties to the world were complete?”

Seem could barely manage a nod, too raw with emotion and awe in the presence of one of the makers.

“Is this not what you were doing? You sacrificed much time for the world, and allowed your heartache to grow until you knew you could do no more. And now, looking at yourself clearly, you see that you… love him very much. Don’t you?” He gently raised his eyebrows.

Seem’s expression tightened, her lips shivering apart with fresh tears in her eyes. “…Yes…”

“And how did you come to love him?”

“By coming to know him. He respects what is not known to him, understands where my strengths and weaknesses come from. He only wishes to protect, to help, to serve, struggling with his own desires, even though all he wants is someone to protect, someone to hold close. I can see it in his eyes…” she folded over, almost sobbing again, her tears gently splattering on the metal at her knees.

“And how did you come to know him?”

She remained low, her voice tight and soft. “I have always been taught to live for others. In protecting your secrets, we are protected from harm by those who don’t understand how properly to use your gifts. In our devotion to you, we offer an example of living beyond one’s self. It was… right to do. Frost was tortured and hurt through no real fault of his own, and I wished to extend the hand of fellowship. In doing so I… came to realize how strong, gentle, and kind he is.”

The leader seemed very pleased, and leaned a little over. “So, one might say, that you fell in love with Frost because you are a good monk.”

Seem was silent, but slowly looked up, her expression puzzled around her tear-stained cheeks. “B-but I… it is pulling me away from my vows to you.”

“And you came to us to seek correction, maintaining your vows. Goodness, Seem, if we needed flawless servants, we’d be making very grave mistakes in asking any of the beings we’ve crafted to be monks. We do not need you to be flawless, we need you to do your best. You have done what is right directly to this moment. And now I ask you to listen carefully.”

Seem straightened, her eyes locked on him, her emotions rapidly masked and pulled back for duty. The leader smiled gently, and stood up before he continued.

“Monk Seem, your makers have seen your efforts as our servant, and see your sincerity. It is in holding to your vows that you have grown so sensitive to your world, and been part of its pure balance. That same path has led to your current state, and so, it is with great happiness,” he took his staff around, gesturing down at her with the head, “that I tell you we hold your vows fulfilled.” Seem’s eyes widened in shock at his words, but she remained still and obedient. “Receive now, a well-earned blessing from your makers, whom you have served well.”

Light built within the head of his staff, and it burst out, engulfing Seem in a cloud of pure light. Seem gasped, her eyes filling with light within the power, her heart simultaneously exploding with joy and deeply relaxed in contentment.

At length, the light gently faded, exposing the kneeling body of Seem… only quite different from before. Her clothing had been remade, covering her in a flowing white gown, the skirt long down the backs of her legs, but short in the front, where intricate boots of Precursor metal and durable, dark rubber protected her legs from the knees down, billowing pants vanishing under the skirt along her thighs. Her arms, the pale, white hands pressed to the ground, were covered in firm, tight fabric along the forearms, running down to the first knuckle of each middle finger, and then the same, baggy, loose white fabric as what covered her legs vanished into the shoulder covers of rubber that went from the base of each sleeve, along the top of each shoulder, and across her upper-back, down the spine, and around her middle, mixed with Precursor armor. Simple straps ran across the front, top of her chest from the shoulders, and the baggy fabric covered her chest, bloused over the firmer middle.

Her skin was the same pale, almost frost white, but the other colors were gone from her gentle face, her eyes still closed, and her long ears gently ran out from her head… which now revealed a waving, almost curled mane of frost-white hair that cascaded down to the base of her neck, thick and glistening. Seem finally started to ease upright, though still on her knees, and opened her blazing red eyes, looking down at her hands softly, her mouth agape, and down at her altered apparel. Then she focused back up at the leader, tears starting to drip down her pure-white cheeks as she started to smile. “The light… I can feel it… You…”

“Did what was proper for you,” the leader replied in a low, meaningful voice. “Your vows are held fulfilled. Go now… and do what is right.”

Her expression softened with surprise. “W-wait… you mean…?”

The leader just winked at her, and she was engulfed in another flash of light.

* * *

Back in the meeting room, it was Frost who first paused while the others spoke, turning his head as if listening for something, his expression puzzled. He wasn’t alarmed, indeed the sense was powerfully luminous, like Light Jak, he simply didn’t understand why it was becoming so obvious to him. Was one of the Precursors coming to check on them?

Onin and Samos paused next, Jak the last to turn to look at the door. Keira and the others soon realized something was up, so they looked to the door as well. The door softly opened, and a nearly unrecognizable figure stepped inside, her hands resting on the door as she somewhat meekly looked in at them. She was surprisingly beautiful in her white skin and glistening hair, her crimson eyes starkly mesmerizing. Her armored gown was a curious combination of elegance and practicality as well, but her almost timid air made her all the more welcoming.

Frost, however, smiled in his gentle, warm manner, his eyes softening. “Seem.”

She was just as surprised as the others. “…You recognize me, Frost?” she asked, unable to avoid the subtle smile starting to warm her expression.

Frost pulled his head back with surprise. “Why wouldn’t I? Its your face.”

Seem couldn’t help but smile warmly at his response.

The others, however, were shocked, even Onin as she realized what had happened. Jak was blushing a bit, which made Keira dryly nudge him in the ribs. Daxter was in more sincere shock at the simple change, never viewing Seem was even remotely attractive, and now seeing a rather gorgeous woman. “Who-what-now?” he stammered. Tess darkly squeezed him with a hug from the side, ‘accidentally’ starting to choke him.

Ignoring the struggling ottsel, Sig and the others finally managed to regain some response. Sig exclaimed, “S-Seem? What happened to you?”

The former monk walked carefully into the room, her physical manner completely unchanged, and bowed, gesturing, though her hair cascaded around her face this time. “The Precursors have shown me great favor and honor. They blessed me similarly to how they blessed Jak with their light.”

While Torn and Ashelin watched with interest, Samos thumped his fist off the table.

“By the Precursors! …Okay, yes, literally, but still, this is remarkable! We have another light warrior on our side!”

Seem blushed, this time no make-up in the way of the gentle pink glow. “P-please, I am not so skilled as the hero. I hope I can help, however, yes,” she finished with a gentle bow, still quite distant from the group.

Frost was still smiling. “I’m glad for you. No one could have deserved it more.”

Seem looking down as her face turned scarlet. “I-I did not deserve it, no one could, but… I am most grateful, yes…” Her eyes focused back into Frost’s, and he was surprised by the deep emotion… and happiness he could suddenly see in her expression.

Before he could respond again, Pecker spoke up. “Onin is greatly relieved as well, but we must continue planning before it is too late to rest well.”

Seem blushed faintly once more, and hurried up to the table, Frost turning around as she stood beside him.

Torn pointed down at the map again. “I’ll lead the ground forces from the Freedom League side.”

Ashelin nodded. “And I’ll lead the hellcat squadrons.”

Sig nodded. “I’ll directly command our Wastelander ground forces. Kleiver, you keep the buggies in line out there for me.”

“You got it, boss,” the old warrior agreed with a sharp nod.

Frost smiled. “I’ll keep myself on the front line. My powers are more effective at closer ranges, and my rifle can help pick some further targets off.” His talon almost ripped the map where he pointed at the desert, so he quickly pulled it back, an apologetic glance to Sig following.

Seem could let his almost childish meekness warm her heart without fear of betraying her duty. She looked back to the map with a smile herself, and added, “I will stand by Frost.”

The others tried to ignore his abrupt glance at her. Seem only smiled at him, and then they all focused on Keira. “And Tess and I will offer air-support.”

Jak leaned on the table. “While I take out the root of the problem with the Precursors’ help. I’m getting used to this kind of thing.”

Samos stamped his staff irately. “Don’t be foolish, Jak.”

The hero smirked to his old friend. “Don’t worry, Samos. I’m deadly serious about this… just not the first time we’ve faced the worst.”

Sig knocked on the table. “Then we’re all set. Let’s call it a night, get some rest, and start preparing early.”

Everyone was quickly agreed, and started pouring out of the room. Keira found Jak for a tight hug, and pecked his cheek, giggling when he returned it before they split apart for the night. The ones last leaving the room were none other than Seem and Frost.

“May I speak to you for a moment, Frost?” Seem asked gently, a glowing happiness in her manner he’d not seen before.

He nodded. “Of course.” He let himself smile as well. “I didn’t think you could be more beautiful…” Then he jerked with embarrassment. “I-I mean… sorry. That wasn’t the most appropriate thing to say…” He looked down with a sigh.

Seem only smiled more fondly at him. “I am very grateful for the compliment. For all of them. The Precursor… did make me appear quite different…” she muttered, looking down at herself.

“I meant your smile.”

She looked back up into Frost’s eyes softly, instantly realizing how sincerely he meant it. He’d barely even noticed her change of clothing, her hair… “You see how happy I am…”

He nodded. “I think it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. I am very glad you could experience something so wonderful.”

Seem gently raised her hand toward him, but didn’t touch him yet, still smiling. “May I see your hand?”

Softly perplexed, he tipped his head, and raised his right claw up to her hand. Seem smiled warmly, and wrapped her hand around his, bringing the other up, clasping his claw within her hands. Frost’s jaw fell faintly, his eyes rushing with powerful emotion and quite a bit of confusion. “S-Seem…”

She pulled his claw down between them, and looked into his eyes. “The Precursors have held my vows fulfilled, Frost. …I am no longer a monk, but a servant in a different way.”

It was the first moment since her transformation that her empathetic pain returned, seeing his face fracture between pain and supportive happiness.

“Y-you are still devoted, of course.” His eyes flickered from hers to their hands and back. He only sub-consciously noticed that her hands were not burning him despite her luminous power he could _feel_.

Not sure how else to express her meaning, Seem carefully pulled one hand away from his, and reached up, caressing his cheek. His entire frame relaxed, his face turning into her touch as his eyes drooped with ease, but he suddenly snapped back to his usual self, pulling away from her, holding his hands near his face. “Please don’t do that…”

Seem froze, her hands halted in the air, concern on her face. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

He shook his head. “I… I can’t let you do that, Seem. It makes me… I can’t see you as… I know you’re not a monk anymore, but I can’t see you as you… as you have chosen to be when you touch me like that… I’m very sorry.” He kept his eyes down, but he was almost in tears. …It had felt so wonderful…

The former monk almost melted with relief and happiness, gentle tears watering her eyes. “That is what I am trying to tell you, Frost.”

He looked into her eyes in confusion. “W-wait, what?”

“I am not a monk anymore,” she said clearly, tilting her head to him with a smile that only grew with humor and fondness.

It almost worked this time. She saw a deep, ever-so-deep, buried longing rush through his eyes, but he quickly hid it away with confusion and practical uncertainty. “You mean… I’m not sure what to…” he shook his head, looking down again.

Seem came closer, and gently put her hand on his shoulder, drawing his eyes back to hers. She spoke with her beautifully soft, rasping voice in a hushed, gentle tone, “I want to stand by you… always.”

Seeing the deep-rooted pain that flowed into his eyes, she had never wanted to help him more, support him, but he looked down to the side, softly pulling her hand from his shoulder. “I can not let you do that for me…” he strained tightly, easing back a step. “You deserve someone kinder, someone… who isn’t warped into a monster… Someone you can hold close…”

Realizing nothing else would really work, Seem just came forward, and embraced him, nestling her cheek against his lumpy, armored shoulder beneath the cloak. She felt him shiver, and he tensed to pull away, but she just pressed her hands into his back, and embraced him more fully. “You are not a monster. I have been drawn to your kindness, gentleness, and warmth since we have met. My makers told me to do what is right, and that is why I came directly to you.” She was crying gently from her closed eyes as she held onto him. “Please… let me be your support… your balance.”

And, finally, she felt his arms wrap around her, but in the gentlest way, as if she were a precious flower. His claws simply folded over her shoulders, and she felt his head tilt down into her neck. Her eyes faintly opened as she felt his warm tears trickle onto her shoulder.

“I never dared hope for this…” he breathed, his voice so tight with emotion she could barely hear it beside her ear. “…You have always been my balance, Seem… I never felt such peace…”

Seem almost sobbed herself, but just swallowed tightly, and wrapped her arms as securely around him as she could manage. “…I could not be happier to give it to you…”

As wonderful as it felt, he couldn't help realizing how painful it had to be for her, to embrace a lumpy, hard, sharp body like his. “…But you can’t be comfortable like this…”

She only held tighter. “I have never been more so.”

At last, she felt him completely melt in her embrace, his warming cheek on her shoulder, the cool metal of his layered head-armor on her neck. He shook with subtle sobs, and he started to softly caress her shoulders with his claws.

“You won’t harm me, Frost,” she whispered.

He lifted his right claw up, and slowly ran it down her hair.

Smiling at his caress, she quietly answered “…Always so gentle.”

He had to stop with another controlled sob, and so she reached back, softly running her hand down his neck. “See?” she managed through her own, powerful emotion. “You would never harm me…”

He slowly nodded, and they finally pulled apart, both blinking away their remaining tears. Looking at her, radiant in the moonlight behind him, Frost softly reached up with his right claw, and caressed her cheek with his palm. She closed her eyes with a fond smile, and lifted her hand, holding his to her face for a deeply appreciative moment. She felt the trembles running through his smooth fingers, and finally looked back into his eyes, letting her hand down. He reached up again, and ran the backs of his fingers down in one further caress.

“I have never seen someone so beautiful… nor so strong.”

She blushed quite sincerely, looking down from him in an adorably bashful gesture, her shoulders folding inward. Frost hesitated, but then gently eased closer, and kissed her on the forehead, making her look up with a soft smile. “Good night… my love.”

Seem reached up, looking deeply into his eyes, and softly ran her hands down his cheeks together. “Good night,” she replied with a soft nod, her voice and eyes conveying all of her deeper meaning.

They parted, and as he moved back to his chambers, Frost held one claw to his heart. He could remember his sister smiling more easily, how happy her family had been… and how beautiful and kind Seem was. He had never felt so complete.


	13. Darkness Falling

It moved like a comet of black fire, the size of the moon, and closing upon their world with slower speed than one might have expected now that it was so close. Indeed, it was as though the intelligent darkness was relishing the coming banquet of life. The Darken’s perception rushed down to the planet below, through the clouds, to the desert, amid the cliffs, near the ocean… to the Precursor ship floating above Spargus City.

On the planet itself, it was nearing evening of the day after Seem’s remarkable transformation. Blue and gray hellcats were floating steadily just ahead of the guarding wall, the buggy-garage open as dune-hoppers, sand sharks, gila stompers, and other vehicles rolled out behind the massive dune-runner Metal-Heads that were spread across the wall on the ground. Freedom League guards, armored with rifles, stood in formation with Wastelanders and medium-range Metal-Heads, especially the four-legged, silver, hunch-backed creatures with their plasma-blasting arms.

Sig stood with Torn in the center, just beyond the ranks of soldiers in front of the garage gate, which remained open for the moment. The Haven City commander had both of his pistols at his hips, ready for action as he listened to reports and gave commands over his comm. Sig kept Kleiver’s force of sand-vehicles and the mobile Wastelanders organized with their battle-amulet communicators.

Flying back and forth overhead already was the desert Zoomer, its three nose-guns smoothly panning around as Tess adapted to the controls better, Keira focused as she adjusted sensors and ventilation systems. Ashelin was watching from her command hellcat, a guard on her right in the co-pilot seat, and another manning the turret in the back of the hefty Zoomer craft. She raised a comm-device to her mouth. “All hellcats, maintain formation. You’ve been prepping for this all day and most of your lives. Make it count, people.”

And at the forefront were the Metal-Heads. Ape-type, smaller, insectoid types, Leapers, and also Metalpedes. They were like a river of glistening carapace and dark, scaly bodies in front of the blue guards and earthy Wastelanders, scattering around the dunes where Sig and Torn stood, and one more pair that would be heading the defense of Spargus City.

Her brilliant crimson eyes glistening in the late-afternoon sun, Seem looked back to the standing army with a gentle smile, her hair shifting faintly in the breeze that was moving across the sandy plane with her skirt and baggy portions of her clothing. Seeing so many disparate beings allied together, especially seeing the Metal-Heads standing as one with Wastelanders and Have City warriors, was strangely heartwarming despite the dire situation.

Looking ahead, she glanced to her left, at the dark warrior who stood out so obviously in the bright, glistening desert. With his hood up, his modified rifle vertical in his left arm, Frost was once again the dark warrior that the marauders feared so much. His glowing eyes and glistening jaw were all that was clearly visible of his face, his cloak shifting with the wind that was tugging at his beloved companion’s hair.

“It is true,” Seem began, looking outward. “The darker shadow becomes, the brighter the light that meets it.”

Frost smiled gently. “Balanced.”

With a softly amused glance to each other, they each nodded.

A comm-device hidden somewhere on Frost’s shoulder garbled noise before Sig’s voice was clear. “Frost, this is Sig. I’ve been thinking… Maia and Jalnoth could keep us pretty busy on their own… Why aren’t they hitting us right now, softening us up?”

Frost focused outward, lowering his rifle into a more readily used position, gripped with both claws. “They may yet, King Sig.”

Standing with the king, Torn nodded. “He’s right. The Darken is close,” he looked up at the smudge visible even in daylight over their heads, “but still needs some time. No reason they couldn’t hit soon and still be early.”

Keira cut into their conversation from her Zoomer. “It’s up to Jak, anyway. We just have to hold the line.”

Ashelin smirked in her hellcat. “And we will.”

Indeed, at the very moment, Jak was preparing for his own part in the coming battle. He fastened his gauntlets down, adjusted the leg-armor down his shins, locked and loaded his morph-gun before slipping it back into the holster on his back, and checked his jet-board before locking it down into its compact size, then stowing it on his back. Adjusting his torso armor, he looked down to Daxter in the command center of the Precursor ship, where Seem had spoken with the leader herself, and gave his friend a confident nod and smile. Daxter was controlling his anxiety to some degree, but nodded back, and then scrambled up onto Jak’s shoulder as always.

With the surfer and dummy manning the controls behind him, the leader floated up to Jak on a upside-down dome-platform, nodding sagely. “Are you prepared, Mar?”

“As much as I can be, I think,” Jak answered gravely, but his body was loose, well experienced in facing deadly situations by this point in his life.

The leader continued in response, “Though it may appear so once it begins, you two will not be alone. The Darken must put some of his focus into his army, because it is part of him, and thus your friends here are very much helping you by distracting part of his power. You, however, must know that he is a deadly foe, even at his weakest. You must do all you can to defeat him as quickly as possible.”

Jak nodded. “Understood.”

“Don’t even bother with your dark powers, they will have no effect on the Darken itself. Even your most powerful dark energies will only feed him. Your light powers are your best weapon and defense here, Mar. Remember them, and stay focused. Do not lose yourself to your rage, or we will all pay the price.”

Daxter twitched, glancing to his friend’s face. Jak did turn more grave, but only nodded again.

“Uh-oh, boss!” the dummy suddenly exclaimed in his vapid tone. “I think we got some bogeys comin’ in or somethin’…”

Jak growled. “Maia and Jalnoth…”

The leader nodded, and quickly went into action. “Start preparing the defenses,” he ordered the surfer, who gave a mildly formal salute, grinning at himself while adjusting more controls, “and you… keep your eyes on that scanner system.” As the dummy comically tried to stand still and fierce at the controls, the leader turned back to Jak. “I will begin the transportation device’s power-up. We are all working as fast as we can. For now, trust your friends.”

Jak nodded, letting them work, and glanced down to the side. _…Keira…_

* * *

“We have incoming. Prepare yourselves,” the leader’s voice came over their comm-systems out in the desert.

Sig lowered his gun, looking out across the desert firmly. Torn pulled his pistols free as the dune-buggies rolled out, blasting across the sands to either side to support the flanks of the main formation. The hellcats spread further apart to reduce collateral damage if any of them went down. Under Torn and Sig’s commands, the Wastelanders and guards locked and aimed ahead. Seem stood by Frost, Keira flying overhead with a rush of wind, and watched the Metal-Head leader point outward, and then raise his rifle to his shoulder. The melee Metal-Heads started to push further out, and then lingered on the sands around the dune upon which Seem and he were standing.

At the top of the cliffs South of the city, directly ahead of the defending, allied army, a dark mass was pouring down toward the desert, spreading as it reached the sand like oil falling from a damaged pipe. The ominous glistening of red sparkles revealed the small army of Prowlers, with two more obvious masses rushing forward in their midst, like the heart of a swarm. Jalnoth, bounding along with his massive legs, arms back, tail shivering with the wind of his speed, was just to the left of another figure, one that caught Frost and Seem’s eyes more particularly. It was Maia, but she was altered since they’d last seen her.

Within the swarm, her change was far more obvious. An aura of purple-red energy simply emanated from her body, the shadow-gem in her chest glistening. Her crystalline armor had shifted into a disturbing mimic of Jalnoth’s sinewy, chorded flesh, and her eyes no longer glowed as her own, but were solid red pools, like Jalnoth and the Prowlers’. Her hair had shifted from a thick, smooth mass, to a collection of articulated spines that hung down her back. Her expression was balefully cold, and the same haunting evil came from her eyes that filled Jalnoth’s.

And around the two war-masters, the Prowlers were rushing along on all-fours, roaring and hissing as their tails lashed, their limbs thumping off the sand as their jaws fell open, wailing around their razor-tipped tendrils.

With the buggies grouped on either flank of the formation, the long-range Metal-Heads supporting and interspersed with the Wastelanders and guards near the city gate, and the close-quarters Metal-Heads filling the front-line around Frost and Seem, the battle was set to start.

Ashelin tightened her fists around the controls of her hellcat. “Once they’re in-range, fire together on my signal, then at will. Remember, aim for the open mouths.”

Torn touched his comm.. “Frost… you sure your … guys are okay out there?”

The former commander smiled faintly. “We’ll do our part, sir.”

Ironically, it was Frost and the massive dune-runners that could fire first, having the longest ranges. As the Prowlers surged over the first dune-ridge from the cliffs, Frost fired, his rifle ramming his shoulder back as a dark-power bolt ripped through the air. He was joined by a volley of shots from the dune-runners, which roared thunderously as they fired in rapid succession from the center, as though Frost’s command was a wave ripping through them.

One Prowler took Frost’s shot to the head, snapping over itself just before the entire front-line exploded in Dark Eco energy.

Sig snapped his peacemaker up. “Kleiver, hit ‘em hard!”

The dune-buggies shot off from their waiting positions, the Prowlers just surging through the purple, black smoke of the opening attack in time to take a wave of high-velocity bullets and grenades from both sides. The dune-runner Metal-Heads and Frost started firing constantly, blasting gaps in the rushing formation, while the melee-Metal-Heads started surging forward, very much like the wave of Prowlers attacking them.

Torn chuckled. “Now that’s a sight I thought I’d never see.”

“You’re tellin’ me,” Sig retorted in kind, charging his peacemaker as he aimed already.

Prowlers started to leap at the dune-buggies that were rushing along the front line, but at the same time, with the vehicles closing like pinchers from both sides, the Metal-Heads surged up to their aid. Ape-types leapt to meet the Prowlers before they could even hit the cars. One Prowler was flailing through the air, arcing down at one of the sand-shark dune-buggies, when two ape-type Metal-Heads slammed into it from the other side, all three rolling back into the sand as the vehicle rushed away, the driver, glancing back to the Metal-Heads that saved him, muttered, “I could get used to that, yeah,” and opened fire on a Prowler that was trying to sneak through the center line. It flipped over under his assault, and finally exploded as he drove between two oncoming buggies, the two groups of the vehicles trading sides.

Kleiver, driving his own sand-shark with its twin machine-guns on the front, was leading from the left side, just passing the other group near the center of the battle, when his vehicle jerked from some impact. He growled, and looked around, but only caught a glimpse of motion behind him. He looked up to his right, and saw a Prowler just lunging down at him from the back of the vehicle. Kleiver’s hand snapped for his rifle in the passenger seat, but he heard another, very familiar roar, and looked forward. An ape-type flew from the sand, and body-slammed the Prowler off the back of his vehicle. Swerving to avoid hitting some of the insectoid types, Kleiver nodded. “Yeah, them critters are alright…”

Amidst the explosions from the dune-runners and Frost’s warped rifle, there were still plenty of Prowlers rushing through, and the Metal-Heads were starting to fall, skull-gems flying into the air as more and more were overwhelmed. The desert Zoomer shot down through the air, Keira’s expression grimly determined as she flew in from the East side of the battle. Tess, behind Keira at the weapon control panel she’d jury-rigged for the battle, opened fire with the nose-guns. Several Prowlers were distracted, three bursting into dark fluid and dust directly, and Metal-Heads surged in to finish the job.

Ashelin growled. “Screw this. Hellcats! Advance! Unload on those bastards!” She rammed the controls, and her hellcat shot off. The entire hellcat armada surged forward in a wave, and were just passing over Frost and Seem when they opened fire with a storm of crimson bolts, just over the arcing paths of the dune-runner shots.

As the entire front rank of the Prowler force was rammed back or obliterated under a wall of crimson bolts and dark-eco blasts, the dune-buggies were swerving back around on the far sides of the battle, boosting back toward the fray, weapons firing.

Jalnoth was just surging over a dune near the front-line battle when his eyes focused ahead. A dark-eco bolt rammed into his face, flipping the war-master over, slamming him back into the sand. Frost smirked from his dune, and switched targets, firing at Maia. The further-warped woman only glanced up, and the shot exploded from a distortion that shattered the air ahead of her. Frost frowned, and then his eyes flared as Maia pulled her hands back, floating to a stop, dark energy thundering into her palms, crackling through the air violently. Jalnoth rose up, and swept his right claw from East to West as well. A blasting wave erupted across the sand, blinding everything on the front-line.

“No!” Frost gasped, Seem watching anxiously, unsure how to help so far away.

An explosive beam of dark-eco energy shot through the sand-cloud, sending Metal-Heads flying into the air, skull-gems twirling free. One dune-buggy flew into the air, twirling so violently it was already flying apart before it exploded from its own ammo-stores.

Torn twirled his pistols. “The fight’s up there. Sig!”

“On it! CHARGE!”

The two land-force commanders led the rush, weapons aimed and blazing as guards and Wastelanders surged forward in a wave of their own, weapons already firing. A constant barrage of crimson bolts from Ashelin’s hellcats and the united ground forces finally halted the Prowler advance like a wall.

As the sand started to settle from Jalnoth’s attack, Frost’s rifle struck the sand on the top of the dune, thrown down from his claws. Pulling his hood down, Frost stepped forward, claws down at his sides. “Seem, stand back please.”

Drawing further from him, her eyes tightened as she saw the deep rage in his eyes. It was the same look she’d seen before, when he felt it was his fault someone was being hurt. Now it was from the Metal-Heads dying under his command, and his allies. He suddenly roared, his body shivering as energy exploded off his limbs. Seem stood without fear, somehow completely certain the power would never harm her.

Strangely, as the allies charged, Metalpedes finally bursting into the battle, ramming Prowlers everywhere, scattering their ranks, the Prowlers seemed to hesitate, and Maia and Jalnoth focused beyond the battle… to the beacon of dark power surging on the dune with Seem. The haunting roar was starting to pulse across the entire battle with unnatural ease. Jalnoth and Maia both reached back on one side with both claws, building their own energies, but then Frost snapped his claws forward, crossing them as his body pitched from inertia, his cloak writhing up with his stretching perceptions.

The crackling power all around him surged down into a blasting beam, which erupted from his crossed limbs, emitted a ring of power from the simple release, and widened explosively, ripping through the air across the battle, everyone overcast by the sheer glow, and Maia and Jalnoth’s face fell with shock as the massive power-blast split in half. They tried to defend themselves, but were struck, Frost’s perceptions rushing back to normal as the shockwaves pulsed out from the impacts, the attacks driving both war-masters back into the sand, digging troughs through the desert and their ranks alike.

A small force of Prowlers broke through the center, but all at once, Keira’s Zoomer twisted around in the air on the West side of the battle, Sig and Torn came dashing over the dunes, and Ashelin aimed down. A peacemaker blast ripped into the group first, knocking them back, roaring in pain. Ashelin, Keira, and Tess opened fire, blasting several into nothing, while Torn fired with both pistols as he ran, clipping two Prowlers from the charging group in the mouths, killing them, and suddenly snapping his guns to the sides, firing at Prowlers trying to crawl on dune-buggies on either side. Keira shot overhead, the Zoomer’s guns ripping into the Prowlers constantly.

Away from the battle itself, the dark mass, like an oily tear-drop, was constantly rushing closer to the planet. It was slowing more as it the distance closed. Within the darkness, the two, massive, clustered eyes of glittering crimson focused on the world with dark relish. _…And now to begin…_

The Darken suddenly froze in space, becoming an almost perfect sphere, only a few hundred kilometers from the planet’s surface, directly above the battle.

In the battle, Seem looked up as the desert became dark, as if night had fallen. Though grave, she was calm, Frost picking his rifle back up and joining the battle again. “The true battle is about to begin,” she whispered. Looking down, her eyes sharpened. “Frost!”

He looked to his left, and saw a dark bolt rushing toward him from Jalnoth’s claw in the midst of the enemy army. He started to twist to meet it, but felt a grip on his shoulder, and looked back to Seem. Her left hand holding him, Seem focused ahead, her right hand aimed forward with its palm. Her eyes flared with white light, and the bolt scattered against a shield of blue energy all around them both. Frost couldn’t help but gaze at her in soft awe as the power faded from her eyes. She looked to him apologetically, however. “I fear I am capable of more than I am doing, but I can not see how to use what has been given to me…”

Frost smiled. “Watch my back, and we’ll worry about that later.”

She couldn’t help but smile back.

On the Precursor ship, the leader stood by gravely. “We’re ready, Mar. Now it simply requires timing…”

Jak nodded, Daxter chewing his nails already.

In space, the black ‘moon’ suddenly burst open, the lower hemisphere writhing apart like an sea-beast spreading its tentacles to expose its beaky maw. Rather than a maw, however, the black mass unveiled a jagged, plated sphere glowing with purple light along the various creases and cracks in its form. It was all too clearly visible from the battle in the desert below, the proximity giving it almost crystal clarity despite the atmosphere’s presence. Though few thought of the paradox, the massive darkness didn’t appear to affect the gravity on the planet below either.

Sig took the chance to look up as the glowing mass started to flow out of the greater form. “Here it comes…” Focusing down on the battle, his peacemaker charging, he smirked. “Look sharp, people!”

The battle itself was still raging, dune-buggies, Metal-Heads, and blasts of crimson and dark-eco colliding along the Prowler front. Hellcats scattered through the air, Ashelin and Keira organizing around the attacks. Frost focused himself on the two war-masters, keeping them busy blocking and shooting power back at him, Seem defending him with walls of pure light, like Light Jak’s own shield.

The jagged sphere finally slipped free of the darkness, and started to plummet toward the planet at high speed. Yet the atmosphere didn’t create a plume of heat around it as it naturally would, rather the object seemed to slip through its protective forces, shooting down toward the desert between the cliffs, South of the Prowler force and the battle entirely. Maia and Jalnoth finally stopped, looking up, which allowed Frost and Seem to gaze skyward as well, watching the great black and purple object hurtle down through the darkened sky.

With a final, rushing blast, the dark mass struck the desert behind the large sand-ridge in line with the cliffs, further South than Maia and Jalnoth’s force had started. The ground shook violently, causing several dune-buggies to flip over while guards and Wastelanders, finally close enough, did their best to turn the vehicles back over. Torn caught a glimpse of dark-eco power as he fired into the Prowlers near the front ranks, and finally focused past the sand-ridge, his expression falling in dark shock. “…That’s not good…” he rasped warily.

The horizon had turned purple beyond the ridge. And what was disturbingly worse by context, the present Prowler force, Maia, and Jalnoth started to retreat from the battle.

Torn holstered one blaster, getting his comm open. “Fall back! Everyone pull back! Regroup. The real battle hasn’t even started yet!”

Sig, Ashelin, and Frost gave similar commands in their various methods, and the surviving allied army pulled back, the Wastelanders, guards, and melee Metal-Heads more mingled just beyond the dune-line where Frost and Seem were standing. Torn and Sig stood amidst their soldiers, Sig to the West, Torn the East, while Ashelin and her hellcats panned the sky, Keira waiting by nearer Frost and Seem, Tess keeping her cross-hairs aimed to the sand-ridge, where Maia and Jalnoth’s force was regrouping. Frost gestured forward with his hand, and the dune-runners, four-legged hunch-backs, and more humanoid, blaster-armed Metal-Heads moved further from the city gate, closer to the back to the army itself, giving them all a longer reach.

Abruptly, Maia and Jalnoth split, their force equally dividing and rushing apart with each of them… while a black ocean started to crest of the sand-ridge to the South, behind them. Prowlers, hundreds, possible thousands of them were rushing down into the gap left by Maia and Jalnoth’s split. Worse, these Prowlers moved in ranks, ordered and disciplined, but with the same animalistic ferocity in their eyes as they waited in formation. And then _they_ appeared. War-masters, like Jalnoth, eleven more of them. They loomed up on the ridge-line, claws slowly clenching and unclenching, shadow-gems glistening, tails lashing.

Torn snapped both pistols up, crossed and lateral as he had aimed at Maia before, in the palace, his expression flat and focused. Sig charged his peacemaker, the army locking and loading their weapons, tensing with their claws, fangs, stingers, and mandibles.

A strange sound started to ripple across the desert. A haunting, rhythmic sound that made more than one of the allied warriors look to the others around him or her. Keira’s eyes tightened as she realized what she was hearing. “…Chuckling…”

The entire Darken army was chuckling in unison, thousands of voices moving as one, empowered unnaturally. In fact, only Maia wasn’t chuckling, her solid eyes shivering with conflicted rage and hatred, all of it slowly focusing on Frost… and the painfully pure presence at his side. Maia’s mind was clouded by another presence, but she wasn’t completely dead. There was just enough of her left to be furious. How could Frost, as corrupted as she, have someone so close? How could he have comfort when she was a prisoner in her own body and mind? _…I’ll… rip you… apart… myself…_ Energy crackled in her eyes amid the cold laughter of her army.

The other war-masters started to move down into the army, Maia and Jalnoth joining them, moving toward the front-lines, evenly spread across them.

And then something else happened. Seem felt it first, but Frost was with her the next second, both turning their gaze back to Spargus. They shared, unknowingly, a distinctly similar smile.

The Precursor ship was beginning to flare with pure light, the power of the creators of the universe brimming over its metallic surface like fresh water around rocks in a river, rushing toward the sky from the base of the ship. With a sudden rush, a shock-wave of light erupted from the ship in every direction. It passed harmlessly around the city buildings and people, and even passed over the army, the Metal-Heads and Frost only wavering faintly… but when it reached the Darken force, the effect was instant. Even the war-masters, including Maia herself, were brought to their knees, squealing and roaring in pain, the Prowlers falling and writhing on the side.

Inside the Precursor ship, the leader nodded, and looked back to Jak. “We have weakened his army, they will fall from much more general harm now. He is vulnerable now, his army on the planet.”

Jak just closed his eyes, and leaned back. Bright light rushed over his body, and he suddenly burst into his Light form, his wings sprouting from his back, unfurling gracefully as he looked back into the Precursor’s eyes. “Send me.” Daxter gripped his friend’s shoulder tightly with all-four limbs, nodding himself.

The leader, nodded, aimed his staff, and Jak was blinded by fresh light for a split-second.

Seem saw a blast of pure light erupt from the Precursor ship, and rocket toward the darkness in the sky, soon vanishing from view. She nodded to herself, and focused ahead. “Frost, please tell the others. The army is now weakened, though still deadly.”

Frost touched his comm., repeating as much to his own force mentally, “The Precursors have weakened the Darken army, but don’t get cocky. Their armor should crack a little easier.”

Ashelin smirked, gripping her controls. “Then let’s put it to ‘em!”

Sig fired, and started charging, Torn dashing with him. The dune-buggies charged from the flanks as Frost aimed with his rifle once more, and the entire army surged forward in the wake of the two charging commanders. The hellcats rushed forward like a spear through the air, Keira rushing along between their formation and the army below, Tess prepped and ready to fire.

Recovering enough, the war-masters roared together, Maia screaming with rage, energy crackling over her body, and the Darken army charged to meet the allies, two oceans of warriors aiming to collide with the fate of the world at stake.

Metal-Heads crashed into the front-line of charging Prowlers, this time the scales far more balanced as the Prowlers were actually torn apart or slain as fast as Metal-Heads lost their skull-gems. Metalpedes proved highly effective, simply exploding through the ranks, and sending entire groups of Prowlers flying off, most disintegrating completely. Support rushed over them from the Wastelanders, guards, and dune-buggies washing in from all forward directions.

Right in with the front-lines this time, Torn and Sig were holding their own. Torn dove into a roll as Prowlers leapt into the air around him and the closest guards. He came up firing, five blasts punching a hole through one Prowler’s chest, disintegrating it, three others landing around him, one slamming a guard into the sand by his head. Torn snapped his right gun under his left arm, his left gun aimed straight, and nailed two Prowlers through the eyes, then snapped around wide, to his left, and unloaded into the Prowler that killed the guard beside him. As the beast burst into nothing, he kicked the guard’s rifle into the air, caught it after holstering his right pistol, and twirled the rifle into the opening maw of another Prowler, just charging into him. “Bite down on this!” Its head blew apart before its body followed.

Sig grunted as two Prowlers simply flew away from him, the butt of his peacemaker and his right boot sending them off. He jammed the barrel-end into an oncoming Prowler’s jaw, and fired an uncharged shot. It still erupted through five more Prowlers, and they all burst into void. Wastelanders came charging down a dune behind him, pushing the next rank of Prowlers back for Sig to charge a full blast and unleash with a rush of blue-white light.

The war-masters were not so easily felled, however. They were unleashing blasts of dark energy into the air, clipping several hellcats and blowing some up completely. Ashelin barrel-rolled out of one shot’s path, but another took her co-pilot clear out of the vehicle, dropping his lifeless body down into the fray below. She growled in anger and sorrow, and then flared with alarm as a Prowler slammed onto the nose of her hellcat, roaring. She wrenched her fallen co-pilot’s rifle out of its lock in the center of the cockpit, and rammed it straight down the creature’s gullet. “Say good night.” It flew apart around her hellcat, which she swerved into a sharp dive away from the front-line for another pass.

Gripping her comm device, she shouted, “All hellcats! Focus all fire on the nearest leader unit. The big black things!” she clarified before anyone asked, “Take those monsters _down_!” Her gunner had trouble keeping up as she swerved around violently again, and throttled back toward the battle.

Groups of hellcats started raining crimson bolts down on several war-masters. Black, crackling shields protected them while they returned fire, several hellcats crashing down into the Prowler ranks as a result, but soon their shields cracked, caving. Three war-masters died, their bodies distorting into the shadow-gems before exploding with violent shock-waves, wiping out entire ranks around them.

Shouts and hollers of victory sounded from the hellcats as they split apart and reformed on more war-masters.

Kleiver was mowing Prowlers down as he approached from the West, driving straight along the battle-line, his wheels catching any Prowlers his guns missed. One surged up over his roll-cage, however, and he jammed his rifle into its chest, firing as he drove, knocking the creature back at first, then clipping it shoulder, and finally snapping it off his vehicle, all the while more of them exploding against his sand-shark’s front-end.

His vehicle suddenly jerked, spinning out violently as he barely held himself inside, and three Prowlers climbed up on his cage, one slamming its foot down into his rifle, leering at him as its maw opened… and exploded completely, the two others flying apart under a hail of fire from above. Kleiver chanced an upward look, and grinned as the desert Zoomer shot overhead, its three cannons raking down ranks of Prowlers too quickly for them to really catch her. A few leapt up to try, but the ship was swerving and juking as expertly as a professional racer, the guns catching the helplessly falling monsters on the way down.

To the East, the Freedom League guards were holding their own with the support from the dune-buggies and Metal-Heads. Keeping a steady stream of crimson blaster-bolts rushing into the on-coming enemy force, they only had to alter patterns when smaller groups leapt through the air, aiming to gain ground for their identical brethren. One survived the leap, crashing down into three different guards, its left claw the only extremity free as it landed. Its head snapped to the left, and it growled back at another guard, who had just rammed the butt of his rifle into its face. The creature just started to roar when another shot from a rifle directly ahead of it ripped through its neck, dropping the creature like a heap of grain.

Recovering from ramming the creature, the guard turned, looking up, and snapped his rifle up, sending three shots through the torso of another flying Prowler, blasting it to liquid and dust just as it came closer to the ground.

Across, to the West, the Wastelanders were handling themselves just as well, considering the state of the battle. Near the front-line, a dark, long-haired woman was firing away with two men at her flanks, when a Prowler suddenly burst free of a dune-buggy’s sand-trail. The woman slammed onto her back, but her two comrades were taken back through the air and violently down into the sand, going limp. Growling, the woman rolled forward, narrowly dodging a snap from the Prowler’s tail, and twisted as she got to her knees, ramming the barrel of her rifle straight down the creature’s opening gullet, as it had rushed after her when its tail missed. She fired, blowing the creature apart, and then snapped her rifle around with a stylistic spin, firing backward, toward the main battle, watching her shot rip through two different prowlers. A grimly satisfied smirk crossed her lips before she rose to her feet and rejoined the march proper.

Mixed throughout the front-line, the Metal-Heads were taking a pounding, but buying their allies valuable leeway in the fight. An ape-type took a vicious blow to its head, slamming down into the sand. He quickly rolled away, another fist from the same Prowler ramming through the space his head had occupied. The two leapt into each other, but the ape-type squealed as he was hefted off the ground… only to fly free as a Metalpede surged straight through his attacker, lurching left and right, sending Prowlers flying. The ape-type landed, and rallied several of his fellows, a mass of Leapers, and scuttling insectoids before charging in the Metalpede’s wake, keeping the living battering-ram clear on the back.

The Leapers themselves were proving one of the most valuable assets to the allies. They were weak once caught, but sprang around so easily and skillfully, their bladed limbs cutting deep and leaving Prowlers vulnerable to more powerful Metal-Heads and friendly rifle-blasts, that the Prowlers were soon giving them priority as targets. Entire ranks of the Darken army were rushing into the air with the Leapers, and skull-gems went flying before the dune-runners, blaster hunch-backs, and Frost himself could offer more direct back-up, raining firepower into the Prowlers directly beneath the Leapers between attacks.

Back on the dune near the city, Frost dropped his rifle again, gathering dark power in his claws. Two large bolts of power were rushing through the air like snakes of black fire from two war-masters. With dark lightning crackling down his body, Seem standing by a short distance to his right and behind him, Frost snapped his arms up in turn, the right to the left, the left to the right, letting two bolo-form dark-blasts twist through the air like discs from the ferocity of their release. The black snake-like blasts struck the two bolo-shots, and exploded violently, the energy dispersing over the heads of the guards and Wastelanders.

Picking up his rifle, Frost eyed the battle sternly. “We’re holding our ground, but we’re losing numbers rapidly.”

Seem nodded. “Yes… we may be of better use on the front-line now, Frost.” She looked to him with some concern.

He tipped his head. “First, though…” He pointed his right hand toward the battle, his eyes tightened with focus.

In an instant, the massive, dinosaur-like dune-runners, their cannons still firing, started to charge forward through the ranks. The allies split open for their forward charge, some groups cheering them on as the massive beasts only lost one of their number to a concentrated assault from three war-masters before they crashed into the front-line, their massive snouts rushing down and sweeping groups of Prowlers into the air, their cannons constantly firing into the deeper ranks. With the Metalpedes already carving huge gaps into the Darken army, the war-masters now had a serious problem on the front-line, and started to focus on the Metal-Heads.

Maia, however, was floating still, just watching… staring across the battle… at Frost and Seem. Glancing down, she saw the dune-runners plowing through the army, sending swaths careening off into the air, most bursting apart under enemy fire. Locking her gaze back on Frost, a valid target, her rage and jealousy erupted in what was left of her own mind. Power stormed down her body, striking the ground beneath her feet, and she suddenly rocketed into the air, arcing in a tight, focused path straight over the battle, constantly closing on her prey…

Frost was just starting down the dune with Seem when they both sensed it, snapping their eyes up together. He could already see the fierce, glistening eyes focused on him as Maia stormed down through the air, as if she were a bolt of power herself. “Seem, get down!”

Not wanting to confuse him by disobeying his urgent command, Seem dove to the right, away from him. Maia crashed into Frost like a Zoomer at full-speed, the dune exploding around the pair of them, raining sand on the back ranks of the allied army and Seem alike. A huge trough had blown the center out of the dune, and Maia leaned back from the end, Frost half-buried in the rocky sands near the garage-gate of the city, a dark smirk on her face. “At least I get to enjoy this.”

He looked up at her, tensing to free himself swiftly enough to surprise her as well. “You’ve looked better…”

Her eyes sharpened to slits. “Good bye, Frost.” Her fists snapped down at him, and a blinding explosion of purple-red light hid them both.

* * *

As the war below truly began, the allies real hope had blazed into the sky as a beam of light, ripping straight into the black mass waiting ominously over their world. The light vanished within the darkness, and though disconcerting, it was only what had to occur. Within the darkness, a blinding light suddenly flared to life, and it flashed out of existence… revealing Light Jak, his wings unfolding from around his body, down to his left knee and hand, his right hand propped up on his raised knee. Daxter was clutching to his friend’s shoulder even as Jak smoothly pulled up, standing with his hands clasped calmly behind him. Luminous eyes focused into the shadows beyond.

Thanks to Jak’s presence, the only source of light, the massive chamber was vaguely distinguishable. The floor was solid, matte black, but the walls bulged outward in a radial, carapace-formed architecture that very much reminded Light Jak and Daxter of the Metal-Head nests of the past. Yet the very center of the cavernous chamber, which was easily a kilometer wide and tall in the center, was completely invisible with shadow, shaped into an almost flawless sphere.

Without hesitating any further, Jak snapped his peacemaker up, aiming the laser-sight into the black mass as the weapon charged. “The heart of darkness,” he muttered with his ethereal voice, his eyes tightening.

Daxter huddled down onto Jak’s back, just peeking over his shoulder. “Sometimes I really wish I was Keira’s best friend… At least then I’d be inside a Zoomer!”

Jak faintly smiled, but immediately fired. The blue-white sphere spiraled through the air… and a titanic Prowler claw exploded out of the sphere, detonating the blast with a flash of power and arcs of energy. Light Jak was startled, but immediately took flight, rocketing into the air with a howl from Daxter as the fist kept coming. Several meters up in the air that instant, Jak looked down with his friend, wings spread, and watched the huge arm pull back leisurely, and press down into the ground nearer the sphere.

Dropping down, the two friends watched the sphere distort and warp upward and out, something much bigger than itself coming out of it. Another massive arm flowed out on the right as they looked at it, but the top bulged and warped around a much larger mass. When the compound, ruby eyes burst free of the shadows, the uniquely forged head of the Darken itself was clearly visible to them both… and more kept rising beneath it. A sinewy, articulated neck led down into broad, powerful shoulders, which started to pull the massive arms up into the air more properly. The hunched back surged up beneath the head as the chamber rumbled with titanic aggravation from the beast’s chest. Rather than a single huge tail, this monstrosity’s back had twelve, thick, snapping chords coiling off, six per side, with an exaggerated spinal ridge accentuating the hunched posture. Each tentacle was twice the length of his huge arms. The torso flowed down into a surprisingly narrow, emaciated mid-riff, the apparent source of the hunched posture, and then a skeletal hip section leading down into not two but four huge legs, which flowed out of the remains of the sphere with their multiple joints stretching, pressing tri-clawed feet into the ground, pushing the beast up to his full height.

Easily as tall as the Dark Maker machine Cyber Errol had used in his last attempt to destroy the world, the Darken had to be a hundred meters tall. Then each leg started to pull more into the center, compacting down with more ease. Resting his elbows on his front, upper-most knees, the Darken seemed to crouch and look down at Light Jak and Daxter appraisingly. Then a horrible sound thundered through the chamber, shaking Daxter’s insides as much as the ground at Jak’s feet. “ _ **Are you awed by my form, light-creature? Your hesitation is a weakness I will not share.**_ ”

Light Jak snapped back, his arms crossing ahead of his body as his shield burst to life. Daxter wailed, clamping his hands over his head on Jak’s shoulder as they were engulfed in a catastrophic blast of dark energy. With the peacemaker in his right hand, Jak’s glowing eyes flared with alarm as he looked through the shield. He ducked, holstering his gun, and shot himself into the air, Darken’s right fist plowing through the space he’d occupied, through the very energy the monster had unleashed, and rammed a hole through the wall.

Jak couldn’t rest for an instant, the tentacles snapping at him from Darken’s back. The hero dove, coiled, and yanked himself through the lightning-fast chords, his wings snapping, flowing down his back, and wrapping around his body with his rushing motions and dodges. He yanked himself into a backward somersault as one tentacle tried to impale him on its tip, only to be forced to snap his wings _up_ to pull himself down faster, or being whipped against the wall from another. Even so, he had to snap himself into another somersault to dodge a third whip from the other side… only to take a vicious blow across his back from a fourth attack, the tentacle wider than he was tall.

Flaring his shield, which corroded the wall like acid, Jak managed to cushion his impact with his friend, and they slipped down to the ground. Darken had turned as Jak flew, and the hero landed to block another rip-rushing wave of black force, unleashed from Darken’s claws as they rammed forward.

Thanks to the monster’s sheer mass, Jak heard the rushing air around the roaring power, and used his wings to blitz to his left, diving and blasting his wings backward as Daxter wailed in dismay. “What are you doing!?”

Daxter yelped when the space behind them exploded with the Darken’s body, his own energy rushing out from his wake, the wall exploding in a huge shock-wave as four legs slammed into it. Sending one claw back to unleash a beam-blast after Light Jak, the attack arcing through the air to follow the hero, Darken’s tendrils hit the ceiling, and yanked him into the air, out of the ruined wall.

Light Jak focused grimly. “Hold on, Daxter.” His shield reformed, and he rolled into a tight air-somersault, the black, oily energy exploding around his shield. Jak dropped down with a reverse snap of his wings, and as he landed to a crouch, saw Darken rushing back at him from a whip-assisted lash by the ceiling.

Jak’s arms ripped up, slamming together above his head. Light exploded as his perceptions warped through time, Darken seeming to slow. Regaining his shield, Light Jak braced down, his right fist clenching as he focused up at his enemy. Daxter realized what he was doing, and just huddled down near the jet-board and holstered gun on his friend’s back.

With Darken rushing toward them, claws out, compound eyes glistening with malice, Jak’s wings pulsed out, the tendrils of light flowing gracefully before snapping straight along with his legs, ramming the hero toward the Darken’s chest, fist-first.

His eyes tightened as Jak saw Darken suddenly surge with speed, his claws rushing in as his head turned down, though Light Jak remained in his time-flash state. Jak’s fist struck Darken’s chest just as Darken’s claws rammed into him from either side.

Their powers tore into each other from their very presence, Jak and the Darken roaring from pain… but the Darken rammed his armored face down, slamming Jak straight into the ground.

The hero struck with such violent force that Daxter was flung off, his hands clawing at the gun, ripping it out of the holster along with him. They flew off, skidding back near the wall on the right, while Jak tried to pick himself up, his wings drooped. He looked up, alerted, and flew backward, avoiding a ground-shattering stomp from Darken’s forward, right foot, the talons grinding through the rubble.

Energy already building in the claws as it drew back, Darken focused on Jak, speaking as his arm rammed down. “ _ **I do not underestimate my foe**_.” And the power exploded downward.


	14. Light and Dark

Seem’s face fell with horror as the explosion of dark power erupted in front of her, the light-blessed woman just scrambling to the top of the dune’s remains, facing the city. _Frost…_

Relief flooded her for a heart-beat as Maia came rushing out of the explosion… backward. Frost shot after her in the dispersing energy, sand and rock flying off his tattered cloak, and he landed with Maia, the two clasping claws and struggling for a moment as energy crackled down their bodies.

Maia leaned in at him angrily. “What makes you think you’re any better than me, Frost? You can’t be with her! You’ll destroy anything you touch!”

Frost remained focused. “Alone, yes, you’re right. But I’m not alone. And that’s the difference, Maia…” he strained against her a moment. “I don’t assume I can do anything without help. I’m… just… another… _man_!” He finally gained leverage with his feet, and shoved her back, assisted by a shock-wave of energy like a partial dome ramming her.

Maia stumbled back through the ruined dune, glaring at him, but then cried out as a flash of light rushed past her back. She wheeled about, spotting Seem, whose eyes were blazing with light, her right hand held toward Maia, palm toward her, with a faint aura just then diminishing from it.

Taking only so long for her rage to redirect, Maia tore off the sand, coming down at Seem with both claws storming from power. Seem was alarmed, but widened her stance, snapped her arms out, and focused, her brow creasing sharply. Maia slammed her claws down into a vague dome of blue light, Seem’s eyes glowing once again. Dark energy scattered over the shield, warping the sand to glass around the edges beneath Seem.

“Maia!”

She twisted her gaze, seeing Frost charging through the sand. The warped woman laughed, and snapped her right fist toward him, keeping her left clawed into Seem’s shield. A beam of power erupted from her fist, but before it could even close half the distance with Frost, the Metal-Head commander slammed his feet forward, halting, as his arms wrenched apart.

A blazing dome of dark energy was simply _there_ , detonating her blast and sending the sands flying with such violent force from its abrupt formation that Seem’s shield protected her from the normally harmless particles. Seem herself was startled, and Maia had to regroup, rushing back through the air and actually landing as energy rushed around her arms, gathering in her palms.

The dome faded, and Frost was standing there, arms down, back hunched, body heaving as his jaw hung to let more air through his system. Power continued to crackle off his body faintly, his glowing eyes locked on Maia’s. “I won’t let you harm her. I won’t let you _touch_ her!” his voice thundered the last sentence, ripping through the air with its unnatural power. It caused Seem to glance to her love with concern, his rage peaking dangerously.

Maia laughed quite sincerely, and then snapped her right hand toward Seem, her left toward Frost, and dashed to her right herself. Seem flared her shield, Frost batted the blast flying for him away with his claw as he dove to help protect Seem, unsure how strong her light shield would be compared to Jak’s. The war-master finally reached the opposite side of the ruined dune to Seem, and twisted her hand, guiding the blast straight into Frost just as he came in front of the former monk. Frost grunted from the explosion, and slammed back into Seem’s shield, his darkened form starting to burn, his body tensing from pain as he groaned sharply through gritted teeth.

“Frost!”

“Don’t drop it!” he snapped back to Seem’s worried call, feeling the shield start to wane behind him.

Maia ripped off the sand once more, and slammed into Frost before he could do anything else, grinding him against Seem’s own shield. Seem mouth fell open. “I must!” Her eyes were watering as Frost’s body started to smoke and quiver from the damage her shield was inflicting.

“ _Hold_ it!” his voice drew the first word out painfully as his claws gripped Maia’s wrists, and he shivered with exertion as he started to force himself away from the shield.

Maia was smiling in his face. “See how your beloved’s own power destroys you, Frost?”

Frost just looked up into her eyes, his manner tense with pain, but focused with discipline in his eyes. “It is her power that saved me.”

Seem’s expression tightened with guilt and compassion. She knew he was just keeping her from dropping her guard, but she could _see_ the damage her shield was inducing on his back. Noticing Maia had not replied, the light-powered woman focused up with her own glowing eyes, and saw something unexpected.

Maia was staring down into Frost’s face with the strangest mixture of rage and unspeakable sorrow.

Frost allowed himself a nod. “You see it now. The difference.” He suddenly tensed, and roared, pulling Maia to the left, and yanking himself away from Seem’s shield.

Maia growled, planting both feet in his stomach, knocking him through the air before both of them could land, Maia behind Seem, Frost in front of her, the former monk maintaining her shield.

Shivering, Maia let energy rush and wave over her body. “You presumptuous wretch! I just see a fool blind to his fate!”

Frost smiled a bit. “I have my weaknesses, Maia, but I try to be kind. I try to be unselfish. That’s the difference. You wanted power, and you now you have it… at any cost. I just want to be a good person. Someone that won’t hurt anyone he loves. Seem helped me believe I could still do that.” He tilted his head down. “And I think you could, as well.”

Maia’s expression constricted, and she rocketed toward him. They slammed together, and writhed into a struggle of blows and energy, tightly focused.

Seem dropped her shield to rest faintly, but was watching with a tight pain in her crimson eyes. She felt so much power, so much purity… but couldn’t reach it. Something was wrong with _her_ that was preventing her from helping Frost, the others, their world. She looked down at her hands. _What is it? How can I release it better?_

Then Maia was flung back past her, and Seem twisted around, bracing back as Frost ran up on her right, the pair of them facing Maia, the cliffs to the West of the city’s guard-wall behind her. Looking at her in that moment, Seem calmed with curiosity. She could see it, what Frost had noticed already. There was a ghostly pain in Maia’s eyes this time, as if it was trying to claw its way out past her rage and pride.

But it didn’t stop her from roaring, arching her back, and unleashing a storming blast of energy toward them. Seem flared her shield, Frost drawing back with energy gathering his claws. If Maia was going to win, she would have to defeat them both together.

* * *

The rest of the battle raged around the three on the ruined dune. Kleiver’s dune-buggies continuously ran back and forth across the front-line, supporting the guards and Wastelanders that were firing past the Metal-Heads that were taking the fight straight to the Prowlers. The massive dune-runner Metal-Heads were stomping through the Darken force like juggernauts, Metalpedes cutting paths for insectoids, leapers, and ape-types to rush into deeper and deeper portions of the army. All the while, hellcats and the desert Zoomer were cutting down into the army from above.

It was the war-masters who kept the battle so perilous. The huge Prowlers were unleashing bolts of power, and causing tornados of sand to rip through the battle and defending ranks of the allies. Though only a handful were left, they were making it count.

Ashelin swerved her hellcat around one blast from a war-master, only to almost get thrown from the craft by another blast ripping past the ship’s aft. Her turret-gunner shouted in dismay, and they started going down. She steered hard, pulling up and angling right as the ship tried to dive straight to the left. It slammed into the sand at an angle, skidding to a halt after cutting a few Prowlers apart… and the war-master that fired the damaging shot suddenly loomed directly over the fallen ship, planting one taloned foot on the nose, aiming his crackling claw down at Ashelin. She could just gawk up at him, her hand not even reaching for her gun. Strangely… she found herself thinking of Torn.

But the war-master could never attack her. With a rush of glistening metal and fangs, a dune-runner snapped the huge Prowler up in its jaws, and wrenched him back through the air, tossing the war-master only to fire with its cannon. Two others on either side fired as well, and the three shots blew the war-master’s left arm, leg, and a chunk of his torso away, crimson blaster-bolts from the army finishing him off with a warped, rushing explosion of power.

Ashelin and her gunner just watched the dune-runner that saved them charge forward, swinging its head through the ranks of Prowlers at its feet, firing into the further chunks of the army with its cannon.

“Let’s go!” Ashelin shouted after clearing her head of her shock, whipping her pistol and her fallen co-pilot’s rifle out. She and her gunner leapt out of the hellcat, and started firing.

Unfortunately, they soon realized they were in the middle of the Darken army, and were immediately hard-pressed to keep the masses of Prowlers off them, even with the hellcat to duck behind.

“This doesn’t look good, ma’am!” her gunner called sharply, firing his rifle over the hellcat’s port wing.

Ashelin just fired a few rounds over the nose as she knelt beside him. “Just keep firing!”

And just then a wave of crimson bolts started eating into the force around them. Looking to the North with her comrade, Ashelin found herself smiling with relief as Torn ran up at the head of a group of guards, his pistols firing over her head.

“Ashelin!” he shouted firmly, every ounce the warrior focused on his task as he ran up to her. “Any injuries?”

She shook her head, cocking her rifle. “Only my pride if we don’t clean these freaks up.”

Torn smirked, nodded, and they both led the charge deeper into the Prowler force. As Ashelin fired with both weapons, whipping her rifle from side to side, clipping targets with her pistol, Torn unloaded bullets into Prowlers on her left flank, finally pulling his knife and spin-jumping past one, ripping a gap through the beast’s neck before Ashelin shot it, and they started firing together with their force of guards on the East half of the battle.

Away from the front-lines, Jalnoth watched intently. His eyes were focused on the battle nearer the city… between Maia, Frost, and Seem. His head turned as he seemed to listen to something, and then set off, rushing down to all-fours and streaming through the army, closing on Maia’s battle.

* * *

Though strained to her limit, as false she believed it to be, Seem kept her shield up against Maia’s assaults, and let Frost’s attacks flow through her defense without obstruction, effectively keeping them at a stalemate. Finally, her shadow-gem blazing with a dark aura, Maia shot off the sand yet again, and slammed into Seem’s shield bodily, energy crackling over the shield in a wave of purple-red force.

Seem wavered, and Frost gripped her around the shoulders. “Do you need to rest?” he whispered quickly into her ear.

“I shouldn’t… I can… feel much more… than I am… releasing…” Seem managed in a weakened, strained voice.

Maia looked down at them, her rage fracturing across her face. He had it. The power, but also himself. He had that peace, he had _her_. In that moment, Maia’s eyes shifted, altering… reverting to the glowing irises she’d had since rising in the desert, and she screamed. Not a roar of anger, but a scream of confused fear and frustration as she bashed on Seem’s shield, her body smoldering as she rested on it, her energy crackling across it.

Seem sagged to one knee, but kept her shield going as she moaned. Frost stood over her, his fists crackling. “Release it. I’ll get her away from you.” He was already focused up on Maia, clearly seeing the despair and desperation in her manner and eyes.

 _I can do more!_ Seem shouted at herself, and pulled her head up. “No!” she managed powerfully, “I will hold it…”

Frost looked down to her with concern, but she was focused up on Maia in that moment. Maia fractionally paused as their eyes locked, crimson gazes meeting, one pair glowing with power and sorrow, the other tightening with growing compassion.

Maia snapped. “ _HOW_!?” she screamed, ramming her fists down into the shield as she knelt on it above them both. “How did you keep this!? We are not so different!” she shouted at Frost this time. “Why was I enslaved!? Why aren’t you!?” Tears were brimming in her eyes, flying out with her violent gestures, energy crackling out of them. Black crystals were faintly starting to appear through the carapace that had taken over, and her spiny hair was starting to meld together.

Without warning, even Frost fell back and down from Seem as her power erupted. The shield flashed with renewed strength, and the woman’s eyes blazed with radiance. Maia shouted in pain, but kept pounding on the defense, her own power starting to diminish in its presence.

Frost could only watch in awe as Seem rose to her feet without effort, looking up at Maia. When she spoke, her voice was both a whisper and deafening, filled with luminous power. “ _Do you want such power, Maia?_ ”

Maia froze, her right fist in mid-downward-swing.

The shield slowly vanished, and Maia floated down, just staring at Seem as Frost watched.

“ _Do you want such power?_ ” Seem repeated with infinite patience, her face gentle around her overpowering eyes.

Maia’s mouth fell open limply, tears dripping free from her eyes at last, and she just fell to her knees as her head shook. Managing to look up at Seem, as if in a daze, or shocked, she suddenly exclaimed, “I want my _life back_!” Her voice wailed out pitifully as she collapsed over herself, her body shaking with sobs.

Seem knelt down in front of the prostrate woman, who suddenly jerked, crying out in pain. Rising up, Maia revealed the shadow-gem smoldering with power, and she was pained by the energy this time, arcs of it damaging her black skin. Frost had no idea what to do or who to help, frozen in uncertainty, awe, and growing pity for Maia.

With a rush, Seem’s hands came up, and gripped Maia’s head from the sides, forcing her attention into Seem’s eyes. “ _Make your choice, Maia. You know what you must do…_ ”

The glowing, red eyes widened faintly, her body screaming in pain, but she finally nodded. Her face cringing from the prospect, she suddenly pulled back from Seem, and slammed her left claw into her chest, digging her fingers into her body around the shadow-gem. Doubling over, Maia screamed quite sincerely in excruciating pain, and started to pull the gem from her body.

When the energy from the gem exploded, engulfing Maia with a renewed outcry of suffering, Seem surged closer, and grabbed the gem herself, the energy suddenly dying as Maia stared at her in shock. Seem, however, was focused down into the gem with firm outrage. “ _She is not yours to control any longer!_ ”

Light flashed through her hands, and the gem finally pulled free, leaving a blank hole in Maia’s chest, the woman falling back. The gem shattered into dust, dispersing into nothing in Seem’s hands, and then the light-blessed woman leaned over Maia urgently. Frost finally rushed closer himself. “What can I do?”

Seem looked up, her glowing eyes softened at the sight of him, and then nodded. “Help her up. She has accepted things as they should be…”

Frost pulled Maia’s limp body off the sand, the woman moaning weakly, and knelt down behind her, keeping her propped up, her head back on his right shoulder. Seem, however, reached out, and touched Maia’s chest, her palms covering the hole in her front. Seem bowed her head, closing her eyes, and focused.

_Take your life back, Maia… You do not have to be alone…_

Maia’s eyes flared open. _Yes!_

Frost had to snap his face away from the blinding light that engulfed both women. The power, however, did not burn his warped body. He could feel the very air around them thrumming with luminous purity, but it did not harm him.

When the light faded, Frost looked back to them, his eyes flaring with shock. Seem pulled her hands back, breathing as she seemed weakened from exertion… and Maia, resting against Frost, barely conscious… was completely normal. Indeed, she was more natural than even her form during her time with Gol, when Jak had first known her. Her skin was a softly tanned, light brown, and her waist-length, thick, beautiful hair was a dark brown… her eyes, however, were naturally red as they vaguely pulled open, her body covered in her old bodice and skirt from when she had fallen into the Dark Eco silo with Gol. Her eyes widened faintly as she breathed, tears brimming in her eyes again… but for a very different reason.

“…My… mind…” So wearied, however, she fell unconscious completely in Frost’s arms.

Seem smiled gently up at Frost, her powers faded for the moment. He smiled back, nodding to her. “You did it.”

“I could not have without you, Frost. You helped me realize what to see…”

His smile warmed faintly, but then he looked to his right with focused alarm. Seem twisted her gaze there as well, and realized what it was.

Jalnoth himself was leaping through the air toward them, energy smoldering over his body as he actually roared, his jaw open and the tentacles lashing out. Frost, snapping energy into his left claw away from Maia, flung his arm over his head, unleashing the bolt at Jalnoth without harming Maia with the power. It gave the war-master pause enough for Frost to hand Maia to Seem as gently as possible, and leapt into Jalnoth, the two spinning back down into the sand.

Seem held Maia, but watched anxiously, feeling wearied from healing the woman in her arms, but needing to aid her beloved friend. Fortunately, Frost was immediately holding his own with the war-master.

Jalnoth sent his left fist crashing down at the Metal-Head commander, only to have it blocked by a wall of dark eco energy above Frost’s open claws, which promptly exploded between them, blasting both apart. With hesitating, Jalnoth slammed his left foot down, and the sand around Frost exploded like a geyser. The column of sand blew apart from one side, Frost roaring as he streamed out of it, purple-red power crackling in his wake, and body-slammed Jalnoth back into the sands near the allied ranks.

There they paused fractionally, Frost pulling himself up as his energy started to stream down into Jalnoth’s shadow-gem, almost pulling Frost down with it. The struggle left him open, and Jalnoth belted him off, sending Frost crashing through the sand toward the cliffs.

Rising to his haunches, Jalnoth roared, and shot across the gap as shadow, his wraith form. Frost was just recovering when the war-master slammed him back into the cliff, shattering the stone in a shock-wave as Frost shouted in pain.

Opening his jaw, Jalnoth unleashed the lashing, bladed tendrils from his throat. Frost grimaced as they sliced across his face and front, several coiling around his neck, but the Metal-Head leader suddenly roared, his back arching, and energy exploded from his body. Rock shattered anew, and Jalnoth flew straight past Seem, skipping across the sand, finally crashing into a small dune to the East. Frost ran out of the hole he’d made with his power, and shot through the air, power surging from his feet like a rocket-booster, his cloak lashing violently from speed.

Jalnoth had black, liquid-like, oily power rushing around his fists as he rose up, and as Frost’s senses stretched through time, his body opening back for a full-bodied, four-limbed impact, Jalnoth simply surged upward with both fists. Frost, his energies, and Jalnoth’s power collided with air-shuddering force, the sand erupting beneath the point of impact, but the explosion revealed that Frost had taken the worse side, flying back like a rag-doll, crashing into the sand bank near Seem as she held the still-resting Maia.

Frost rolled over, slowly picking himself up, sharing a grave glance with Seem, whose concern was growing more powerful. He turned as he stood, seeing Jalnoth rushing down at him with both feet ready to crush him clear into the sand. Frost closed his eyes, but suddenly roared, wrenching his claws down to the sides as a dome-shield erupted from his body, crackling with residual power. Jalnoth crashed down into it, Frost and his shield dipping into the sand abruptly, but it held.

Jalnoth leered down as his claws dug into the energy, more of it flowing into his shadow-gem. “When I finish crushing you, I’ll rip the monk apart. I think I can keep her alive until I finally take her head…”

Seem’s concern flared as she _felt_ the dark power surge within Frost. Within the shield, his eyes narrowed to murderous slits, the power in his eyes flaring with intensity, yet darkening, turning the more literal color of blood. His rasping voice was more powerfully under-toned than usual. “Thank you…”

Jalnoth paused, darkly curious.

“That’s exactly what I needed,” Frost continued quietly.

Jalnoth pulled his right claw back, aiming down at Frost through the shield, but never had a chance to release it. With speed that startled even Jalnoth, Frost was suddenly hunched over, legs spread, sanding blasting to the sides from the gesture, his claws open forward, held down in front of him, his entire body shivering with tension… as he unleashed a roar of unnatural and catastrophic power. The air within the shield turned into energy, and then the shield exploded vertically.

Seem had to raise her arm and avert her face from the shock of the release, but finally looked up, along with a good deal of the army, Sig, Torn, Ashelin, and Keira all looking back to see a column of purple-red energy stream into the sky. It slowly narrowed, and finally shut off, vanishing into a narrow wisp of power.

Focusing back to the sand, Seem saw Frost limply fall into the gritty particles on his back with a weak moan. Sensing that he was alive, Seem gently placed Maia down on the cooling sand, and ran to him anyway, kneeling down at his side and touching his shoulder. His eyes faintly opened, and he smiled gently. “Sorry… overdid it a bit…” Jalnoth was nowhere to be seen.

Seem couldn’t avoid a faint laugh, and caressed his forehead. They both turned serious again as he glanced out to the battle, wincing faintly. “But we’re still struggling…”

Nodding, Seem helped him sit up, looking out with him. After a moment, she looked to her beloved calmly. “How strongly are you connected with them, Frost? Is it just authority over their actions?”

He looked into her eyes curiously. “What do you have in mind?”

She tipped her head, looking deeply back into his gaze. “Balance.”

Frost found himself smiling, and nodded. Though he was still wearied, he felt, somewhere in his soul she had helped redeem, pull back from the brink of despair, that she knew exactly what she was doing.

Seem stood up, and helped him face the battle, and then let him sink back to his knees. “Calm your thoughts…” she breathed, standing behind him. She bowed her head and closed her eyes.

Frost closed his eyes as well. Seem placed her hands on the sides of his head, and they began to glow gently. With a soft rush, Frost’s eyes flared open… but were blazing with white light from their dark cores, his red irises glowing more brightly than ever around it. He saw what she was doing, and felt how easily they could do so together. Frost smiled faintly, and raised his claws up on either side, dark energy starting to crackle down his arms.

At the same time, Seem’s eyes finally opened, solid pools of light as she looked down at his skull-gem with a gentle smile. In a rush, light exploded from her body… and dispersed to reveal a luminous creature, with wings of light, tendrils of pure energy, arching off her back exactly like Jak’s, her body cast into stark relief by her blazing aura, her hair starting to writhe gently around her head like a slow-burning white fire.

Her wings spread wide, and she turned her gaze forward with her beloved. Frost began to fade and brighten in an aura of black energy, his power crackling over his form, exaggerating his carapace, claws, and teeth. They were an awesome and terrifying sight, like a beacon of light and shadow at once. wings of light as a wall behind opposites.

Just as the Darken force was taking notice, the allies looking back with shock, the true result of their focus began to form. Torn twisted back around, looking ahead to the battle with widened eyes, Ashelin and Sig near him, realizing what was happening in awe. Keira had to steady her grip on the controls, Tess just gawking as she panned the guns across the battle. Kleiver and other dune-buggies had to start slowing down to avoid crashing.

The Metal-Heads were changing. The Leapers suddenly blazed into black-skinned wraiths clad in white armor that glowed with its own power. The ape-types rose up and shifted into armor-clad warriors with wings of light and shadow. The insectoid scorpions became streaks of light on beds of shadow, ripping through the Prowler ranks already. The Metalpedes warped into dazzling, glistening masses of energy-armor and shadow, blasting whole ranks to dust.

But the dune-runners became awe-inspiring. Their bodies became smooth, gray hide, while their armor shifted into ridged, stream-lined light, their large lower jaws streaming back into more sleek forms… while the cannons on their backs became shifting, revolving beam-arrays… which began to unleash raking streams of pure light veined with shadow as field of blue erupted around each dune-runner.

In the space of a few seconds, the tide had turned. Dozens of Prowlers were dropping every second, entire ranks erased by the rushing onslaught of the Light and Dark Metal-Head swarm. The ape-types flitted through the air, ripping down into the enemy, as the Leapers seemed to streak and blur, leaving Prowlers flying apart in their wake. The hunch-backed and humanoid blaster-types were simply spraying swaths of light from their weapons, adding to the swift decimation of the Darken army. All as a result of the twin powers completely united behind the army.

Sig, Torn, and Ashelin shouted as one. “Forward!”

And the entire allied army started rushing after their diminishing foe.

* * *

Light Jak dove to his right, snapping his wings down along his body while his shield appeared. The mighty blast from Darken rammed him down into the ground again, but the shield held, and Jak rolled into Daxter and his morph-gun, picking them both up in his arms, running toward the side of the chamber.

Shaking his head, clearing it, Daxter focused up at his friend’s face. “So what now, light-wonder?” he demanded dryly.

“Thinking,” Light Jak responded patiently, flying high toward the ceiling as Darken lashing his whip-chords around again.

But then something strange happened. Darken seemed to slow down, muddled by something unseen. Jak twisted in flight, looking down, and saw the whips uncoordinated, Darken himself almost stumbling to the side.

Starting to smile, Light Jak swept down toward the ground. “It’s the others. The battle on the planet is distracting him. Daxter?”

Startled to be asked for something, the ottsel blinked up at him. “What?”

“Take my morph-gun, set it to Nova Strike, and I’ll give you an opening.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Daxter pleaded.

Jak shook his head, and the ottsel sighed, but quickly scrambled for the gun in Jak’s other arm, and let the hero drop him to the ground with a swift dive and recovery. Hefting the massive weapon (for him), he twisted it through the air, locking it into the long, rifle-shape, with the purple and gray missile ready to fire along the top of the weapon.

Light Jak swirled up, and dropped to a neat landing in front of the Darken, Daxter off to the right, already aiming. Darken roared, his cavernous maw flying open, and rushed down on Jak with his claws. Jak shot back, flipping over, and landing to a crouch as the huge fists shattered the ground.

In that moment, Darken looked up, and the crimson, glistening compound eyes locked with the glowing pools of light. Light Jak flowed into a ready combat stance, hands up, feet spread, wings wide, and Darken started to surge forward.

“Hey! Tall, dark, and ugly!”

Ignoring the ottsel, Darken continued to rush forward, but a dot of red light was placed clearly on his left flank. Daxter grinned, barely keeping the gun straight with his body weight, and fired. The missile shot off, knocking Daxter flat. Light Jak dropped, and slammed his hands together over his head, slowing both Darken and the missile down. With a flurry of light-wings, he shot for his friend, diving down over him as Daxter remained in a different time-perception, and flared his shield around them both.

His time-flash faded just as the missile struck. A shock-wave shattered the chamber for dozens of meters in every direction, the air itself vaporized, creating a back-wave equally powerfully.

In the ominous silence after the explosion, the dust and light starting to fade, Light Jak looked up, and his eyes widened.

Darken slowly turned around, his left flank damaged and leaking black energy into the air, but he was otherwise unharmed. “ _ **Don’t be pathetic.**_ ”

Daxter gawked, back on his feet at last. “What the HELL!? We NUKED him!” he emphasized with a hop and wild shaking of his arms.

Light Jak, however, turned grave. “Only one thing can stop him.” He looked down to his friend. “I’m going to use my light energy from the inside.”

Darken started to unleash raging blasts of black energy, and so Jak raised his shield again, protecting them both for the moment.

Recovering from the fear of the blasts killing him, Daxter blinked, staring up at him without understanding for a moment. Then his face vaulted. “Have you gone completely bat-nuts-insane!?”

A faint smile appeared on the luminous face. “I won’t ask you to come on this one, Dax. Just stay low until it’s over.”

Daxter kicked the gun on the ground in frustration, and then looked up at his friend seriously. “We do it together… partner.”

Light Jak’s smile broadened, and he knelt down. Daxter hopped up, holstering the morph-gun for him, and they stood together, as always. Darken finally halted his blasts, and charged, roaring, his massive tentacles snapping and lashing out with their smaller jaws. With a rush of glowing wings, Light Jak ripped through the air, Daxter clinging to his shoulder, shield up, and dove past the rushing tendrils. They started to coil in after him… as he vanished into the darkness of Darken’s maw.

All of the tendrils coiled down into his throat, and his jaw shut, Darken rising upright as he started to focus on the battle below once more. At first he didn’t even notice the rays of light starting to bleed through his wounded flank, but he did soon. The malicious beast roared, screeching in pain as he stumbled backward, clawing at his own front. His body began to crack along his chest and lower torso, and he finally jerked wide, back arched, legs spread, arms shivering on either side, his jaw holding open with an ungodly screech of pain. His compound eyes started to dim from their bright red, and then began to crack, splintering through each lens.

With a ripping rush, a vertical wave of light energy exploded from his core, dissecting him as his body shattered like rock, the two halves starting to fall apart from each other. The remains of the body began to disperse into dark fluid and dust, just like the Prowlers as the blazing figure floated in the air, wings of light spread taut, all of his limbs out to the sides, head back, with his friend standing on his shoulder, grinning.

“ _Nice_!” Daxter firmly nodded with a grin.

Light Jak dropped down smoothly, and they both felt the ground beneath them starting to shake. Daxter glanced down warily. “Those, uh, Precursor guys… won’t forget about us, right?”

His friend smiled smoothly, and they were abruptly engulfed a fresh rush of light, vanishing from the shadowy chamber. In the space above their world, the huge, dark mass was splintering like dried mud, cracking apart and dissolving into nothing rapidly, almost gone in a few seconds.

And outside Spargus, beyond Seem and Frost’s enlightened shadow bond, beyond the allied army, hellcats, dune-buggies, Keira, Torn, Ashelin, Tess, Sig, and Kleiver, and all around the fused Metal-Heads, the Darken army began to shatter on its own. The charge halted, Sig standing with Torn and Ashelin as they all grinned, watching Prowlers and the remaining war-masters shatter into nothing in apparently random patterns across the battle. Kleiver and his vehicle forces finally skidded to stops, and he pulled himself up to his feet, smirking at the view.

Keira set the Zoomer to auto-float, and twisted around, grabbing Tess with a yelp in a crushing hug. “They did it!”

Tess finally laughed, returning the hug as best she could. “Our heroes!”

The armies stilled, starting to cheer together, and the hellcats floated back, comm-chatter bursting with excited hollers and cheers.

At last, the remnants of the shadow in space vanished completely, right along with the last ranks of the army on the planet. The Metal-Heads smoothly turned about, all focusing on Frost and Seem, the allies finally able to give their focus to the remarkable change.

Torn showed some concern as he looked back to the glowing pair. “Are they going to be alright after this?”

His question was answered before anyone else had to. Seem lowered her gaze from the battle, and Frost started to relax against her. The energy emanating from each of them gently faded away, the vast Metal-Head force beginning to revert and fade back to their more natural, darker forms. In just a few seconds, her wings and aura dispersing in a flash and sparkles with the light in her eyes, Seem was kneeling behind Frost as he slipped further against her. She supported him with a warm smile, and he managed a wan version of the same to her from her shoulder. “…Looks like you found the power…”

She couldn’t help but laugh gently, blushing a little. Then she gently tilted her head, touching her cheek to his. “We found it together.”

“Balance,” he replied with a mischievous smile.

She gently laughed again. “Fruitful balance, yes…”

A weary moan distracted them both, and Frost rallied the strength to pull himself off of Seem, both turning to see Maia just stirring toward consciousness again. The desert Zoomer flew down, landing nearby, and when the cockpit opened, Keira and Tess ran out, hurrying up from the right side of the dune where the three were.

“Are you two… okay?” Keira trailed off faintly, focusing over on a face she knew, but with features she’d never seen. “…Maia!?”

Looking to their friend, both Seem and Frost nodded, Seem answering, “Yes, we are fine. As is Maia.”

Seem looked to Frost gently, and he nodded, calmly kneeling by himself. Seem rose up, and walked over to Maia as she woke up more fully on the sand. At first the woman was confused, but then she focused on Seem, and her eyes widened. “Y-you… saved me…”

“You saved yourself. I was happy to help,” Seem answered gently, putting her hands beneath the woman’s shoulders, and helping her off the sand.

Maia rose up slowly, looking around, spotting Keira, who was giving her a look mixed between sympathy and suspicion. Focusing back on Seem, she said, “It’s going to take a while to adjust…”

“Of course, but now you can work to restore the trust that has been lost.”

Frost finally rose to his feet, smiling at the scene. He looked to Keira with a soft nod. “Don’t be too worried. I trust her sincerity.”

Some surprise appeared on the blue-green-haired woman’s face as she focused on him. “After all this…?”

“Especially so,” he answered with a nod.

Tess pointed off to the South. “Here they come.”

Frost turned with Keira, and saw Torn, Ashelin, Sig, and Kleiver coming up to them. Torn raised his eyebrows as he spotted Maia, who was meekly glancing across the group herself as Seem knelt with her. Sig put his peacemaker’s butt to the sand, and grinned. “Well, well… looks like we made a new friend.”

Seem looked up with a warm smile. “Indeed, my lord.”

It allowed Maia to smile gently, and she bowed her head. “Thank you… I … well I obviously don’t deserve your kindness, but…” she looked down dismally.

Ashelin set her hands on her hips. “I won’t pretend we’re buddies just yet, Maia, but if Seem and Frost vouch for you, that means a lot.”

“Thank you,” Maia replied with a deep nod, quite sincere.

Keira, seeing how Maia was behaving, finally came closer, and crouched down with a gentle smile. Maia looked at her warily, unsure of what to expect. Seem, however, was smiling. Keira offered her hand. “Let’s get off to a better start this time, hm? I’m Keira.”

Relaxing softly, Maia shook her hand. “Maia… thank you.”

The young woman just nodded back happily.

And then they were all distracted by the Spargus City garage opening. Seem helped Maia stand, Frost joining them, and they all looked back to see a very welcome sight.

Jak, in his normal state, with Daxter on his shoulder, stood in the center of the opening doors, a grin on his face, and his arms crossed casually. “Miss me?”

“Jak!” Keira almost squeaked, dashing down the sand.

“Daxter!” Tess, almost identical to Keira, ran down to her own hero.

Daxter hopped off Jak before Keira tackled the poor man into the ground with her hug, and then suffered the same fate from Tess.

“I was so worried,” Keira whispered tightly, squeezing her embrace as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Jak smiled more softly, and patted her hair. “I was worried about you guys, too. …I’m sorry I wasn’t faster. I know we lost good people.”

Keira shook her head, looking up at him with a deeply fond smile. “You did your best, like we all did. You’re still my hero.”

Jak smiled warmly back, as Tess practically smothered Daxter in anxious worries and embracing arms. Helping Keira up to her feet, Jak looked into her eyes deeply, making the young woman blush. “…What is it?”

He started to smile just before he pushed close, and kissed her on the lips softly, his hands coming up and holding her cheeks. Keira’s blush exploded, her eyes flaring for a split-second, but then she relaxed deeply, and wrapped her arms around him.

A sharp whistle from Daxter, standing with Tess, and the others walking up from the desert made the two break apart, both blushing, but also laughing. Jak looked back into her eyes. “I hoped you wouldn’t mind…”

Keira giggled, nodding, and just hugged him tightly again.

“…You two do work well together.”

Jak looked up, and blinked from surprise at Maia, still walking with Seem’s assistance with the others as they finally reached the garage, the Wastelanders and guards starting to mill through around them, the Metal-Heads, Jak vaguely noticed, staying outside willingly. “…Maia… you’re healed…”

Keira let go of him, and Jak glanced to her apologetically, but she smiled, shaking her head, and looked to Maia herself.

Maia bowed her head to him. “Thanks to this woman and her own love.”

Seem and Frost both blushed, despite one’s not being visible.

Jak nodded to her, the two sharing a unique understanding, and glanced to Sig. “Shall we get back to the city, Sig?”

The king laughed heartily, hefting his gun along his shoulders as he started to mosey forward. “Wild Prowlers couldn’t stop me, chili-pepper. Come on. Let’s go home.”

It was a welcome idea, and the friends, comrades, and allies marched right back into Spargus, together, victorious… and looking forward to a nice soft bed.


	15. Celebrations

Early the very next morning, Seem was walking out of the natural tunnel that connected the two halves of Spargus and the base of the palace, looking up at the still-dark sky as it came into view on the East side of the tunnel. Quickly, her bright red eyes turned down to the city, where a group of Leaper-lizards were trotting lightly around the tents and make-shift quarters of the all the Freedom League Guards and extra Wastelanders resting after the battle.

Already smiling gently, Seem didn’t allow her awkwardness that her dear friends might not recognize her or their possible disappointment spoil her fondness of them. The Precursor Monks drew up near her, her old Leaper stepping to the front with a cheerful chirp, Siluna on his back with widened eyes. “My lady?”

Seem’s smile warmed, and she bowed, her hand gesturing their old greeting.

“My lady!”

Siluna leapt down, and dashed to Seem, startling the former monk pleasantly before the young monk fell to her knees in front of her, looking up with tears of relief in her eyes. “We heard nothing before the battle began! I feared the worst. Please forgive my doubt. And you are so… radiant…” her frantic sincerity calmed to a wistful breath as she finished, gazing up into her mentor’s fond eyes.

Seem knelt down, touching her friend’s shoulders. “Siluna, I have much to tell you all, but it should start with this. You are now the leader of the monks. Please stand, that I may bow before you.”

Siluna was in very sincere shock, her throat catching on several attempted responses, but her obedience carrying her to her feet under Seem’s gentle pull. When they were both standing, the other monks dismounting as they watched in astonishment, Seem went back down to her knees. “The Precursors, who have helped us so immensely, blessed me in their generosity. I am no longer a monk. I will always be happy to assist you, Siluna, and all our kindred,” she finally raised her eyes up to her—former—apprentice with a gentle smile. “However, I am now bound to another vow.”

“M-my lady… “ Siluna was pitifully overwhelmed, her eyes wide with the remains of her relieved tears.

Seem shook her head gently. “I am not above you in any way any longer, Siluna. If you would honor me with the idea, I would be grateful to be counted as a sister still.”

Her lips pressing together with raw emotion, Siluna nodded rapidly. “Of course, m-my…” the word ‘lady’ died on her lips, and she continued, “sister.” She rushed down, her arms wrapping around Seem as her eyes squeezed shut.

Seem, startled anew by the powerful emotion in her younger friend, finally embraced her in return.

“B-but I am so young, my la… sister. How can I lead our … the others?”

Seem looked back to the other monks, all watching intently, still astonished, and smiled softly. “You have learned well from me. I will always be happy to help you with your questions, if I am able, but there is one last part of advice I can give you, in memory of being your teacher.”

Siluna eased back, on her knees, nodding with soft obedience.

“Be strong for them, as you were for me. They will draw it from your example, and help you maintain it. A fruitful balance, like that of the world itself. An echo of that beauty.” Seem bowed her head, and gestured to Siluna, whispering softly in the rhythmic language.

Siluna bowed to the gesture and words, only rising when Seem was finished. “I shall do my best… my lady.”

Seem smiled beautifully, and spread her hands toward Siluna. “Please rise first.” A touch of amusement entered her tone as she added, “My lady.”

Her eyebrows rising as her emotions finally calmed into acceptance, Siluna pressed her lips together, and then gently stood up. There, however, she offered her hands down to her old mentor. “Please rise as well.”

Seem took her hands, still smiling herself, and did so. Siluna then turned, and gestured to the other monks, who all rushed closer, greeting Seem and praising the Precursors for what they had done with her. Seem was quite bashful, blushing, but obviously sincerely happy to see them all again, vibrant and joyful.

When things calmed enough, Seem requested their attention with calming gestures of her hands, as if patting down the air in front of her. “I understand a great celebration is going to be prepared today. I believe King Sig would be pleased if you chose to stay, and such a remarkable day, in the presence of the Precursors themselves, is surely worthy of such attention.”

Siluna nodded gently, already starting to take on Seem’s calm power. “Of course, you are quite right… Seem.” She almost giggled then. “Perhaps we should give some racing exhibitions, to give our Leapers a fun time as well.”

The other monks shared amused looks, and Seem smiled brightly, nodding. “A wonderful idea.”

Siluna gently looked to the closest monks, and gestured back to the Leapers. “Please find proper places for us and our Leapers to rest.”

“Of course, my lady,” most of them chorused back immediately, making her blush gently as she looked down in a meek manner.

The entire group of monks started to go, leaving only Siluna, her mount (formerly Seem’s), and Seem herself. The light-blessed woman turned to her dear friend more seriously. “There is one other matter I wished to present to you, Siluna, my lady.”

“And I will hear it,” Siluna answered easily, smiling.

Seem smiled, and gently put one arm around Siluna’s shoulders, walking with her down after the others, the Leaper following them without a needed command as the two spoke.

* * *

Not two hours later, the city of Spargus was already alive with activity. Monks, guards, and Wastelanders were working together to prepare one of the greatest celebrations Spargus, or even a good part of their world, had ever seen. The Precursors moved their grand ship down into the arena, as they had before leaving the first time, after the Dark Maker threat was finally ended. This left the East part of the city wide open and filled with early morning sun. Curiously, the Metal-Heads remained outside, and quite calm, simply lingering about, a few scattered groups playing and wrestling in the sands, but none showing interest in coming into the city.

Torn was standing on top of the guarding wall, in which the dune-buggy garage’s large gateway was embedded, looking over their resting allies on the sands below with a tightened expression on his generally stern, sharp face.

“Feeling sorry for them?”

He snapped his head to the right at the wryly amused voice, and then relaxed with a smirk at Ashelin as she walked up, her hand trailing along the natural battlement of dark brown rock.

“You might say that, yeah,” Torn replied with a mild shrug, hiding his real emotions, and looked back down to the sands.

Ashelin came up on his right, and looked down at them herself. “They really saved our necks this time, too. Seem, Frost, and them together.”

“I know they don’t really, but I’d swear they look different now, too,” Torn muttered, his hands resting on the rocks in front of him casually. “Like they’re not the same monsters that terrorized Haven for so long, you know?”

Ashelin shrugged. “They really aren’t.” She gave him a faintly amused side-long glance. He was conflicted behind his eyes, not sure how to be grateful to a bunch of animals, if they even were animals, when he had so much bad experience associated with them. She could understand, of course, she felt the same way. If it wasn’t for Frost, she would be much more suspicious, and she figured Torn was the same way.

“I guess you’re right,” he finally said with a nod. “Think you might talk to Sig about letting them inside? Well… inviting them, I mean.” He turned around, resting against the battlement, and focusing on her with respectful curiosity. He was always mindful of rank.

Ashelin tilted her head to the side, shifting her hips obviously as a hand rested on her left one. “Why don’t you?”

He shifted somewhat awkwardly. “Uh… well… you’re the leader of Haven City… so…”

She leaned at him. “And you’re the commander of the defense forces. Out here, that basically makes us… equal… doesn’t it?”

Torn tried to lean back as subtly as he could. He coughed faintly. “You might say that, Governor…”

Ashelin abruptly grinned, leaning back. “Takes guts to handle a superior officer’s advances, Torn.” She started to walk past him, looking over her shoulder with amused allure. “Just make sure you keep one dance for me during the party, alright?”

Torn blinked, following her with his eyes. “But I… don’t… dance…”

“The party after Jak took out Metal Kor says otherwise…” she trailed off, waving airily without looking back.

Torn looked down when he was by himself. He sighed. “Right…” He coughed. “Well… guess I’ll go talk to Sig… right. Yeah…” He started off, swinging his hands to distract himself. He paused, “And now I’m talking to myself… great.” His usual dry, sharp humor returned, and he marched off more steadily.

* * *

A firm but calm pounding on his door roused him. Shaking his head free of his drowsiness, realizing he’d not slept so soundly in ages, Frost stumbled from his bed, not noticing the paler hue of his skin as he managed to reach the door. Wiping sleep from his eyes, he pulled it open, and blushed a bit when he realized it was Seem herself. “S-Seem. Sorry, I didn’t realize I’d fall asleep so deeply… or at all,” he added, trying to blink himself fully awake.

Then he noticed her pleasantly astonished expression as she looked at him. “Frost… look at yourself.”

He blinked, then his mind snapped back into place, and he raised his hands into his own view. His fully alert eyes flared… their old natural blue as they looked down at his all but normal hands. Flesh, pink and smooth, with only moderately sharpened nails on the tips. He was still clothed in his tattered gear and cloak, but he reached up, touching softened cheeks, feeling up his face… and touching the skull-gem embedded in his forehead again.

“…What happened?” he asked, looking back to Seem in sincere ignorance.

Seem smiled, and stepped through, almost playfully pushing him further into the room, toward a mirror. “Look.”

Frost looked up from her beautifully happy face, and blinked at his reflection. It was almost his original face. Yes, the skull-gem glowed brightly in his forehead, but the hard, silver metal that had embraced it before was now subtler, reduced to fine lines and ridges that almost resembled a Celtic crown thinly wreathed back into his hair… which was black at the roots, his original style, with silver, metallic tips, rather like silver-bleached styling color he’d seen teenagers using back in Haven City before his change.

Calming with intrigue, he leaned to the mirror, touching his own face faintly with his fingertips of his right hand. “…My skin… my old skin. I’m not completely my old body again, but… I may as well be.”

Then he glanced down to the side, leaning back. “I still feel it. The darkness is distant, but there… and the Metal Heads, I feel them clearly.”

Seem gently rested her hand on his shoulder. “You are who you are, Frost, but your pure heart has allowed your body to heal.”

He gently focused into her eyes, and she couldn’t help but realize how beautifully fitting his bright blue ones were. “You mean _your_ purity of heart.”

Seem blushed, giving him a playfully exasperated pout. “Give yourself some credit.”

Frost turned toward her with a soft nod, but then faced the other side of the room, looking down at his right hand gravely. “…I need to test something, though.” He gently used his left hand to push her back, more physically signaling her to do so than actually forcing her, and held his right hand out to the side, focusing on it firmly.

Seem became concerned. “What do you intend to do?”

“I need to know if I can still use those powers or not. I need to know my limits, or I’ll just get people hurt.” He focused, tensing, his hand clawing tightly… and then it answered. Dark power surged over his forearm as the skin darkened to black, turning reflective, his talons sharpening and lengthening. Frost slowly gasped from the old pain, but nodded. “Still there… Alright.”

He relaxed his hand, and seemed to focus again, but winced, and let his hand down. “But I can’t change it back. I’m sorry…” he said to Seem gently, sincere sadness in his still blue eyes.

Seem just returned a fond smile, and came closer, pulling his black claw up in her hands. As she looked into his eyes, white light engulfed his arm, and his face relaxed with the peaceful wave of warmth she sent through him. When it was gone, he looked down… and saw his healed arm once more.

Seem tipped her head to him softly. “Apparently I must help you find your own nobility still.”

Frost returned her smile, and reached up, caressing her cheek. “You are my nobility…”

Seem tilted her head into his gentle touch, blushing gently, and broadened her smile for him. Quietly, she leaned closer, and pecked him on the cheek. “Please, come. It is a wonderful day.”

He let her take his hands, and pull him out into the sunlight of the open hall of the palace. Frost smiled with her, and looked down on the already bustling city.

“King Sig wishes to speak to you about allowing the Metal-Heads into the city for the party. They are just as much a part of the victory as any of us, thanks to you,” Seem said happily, looking at her beloved.

Frost turned to her with a deep happiness and warmth in his own smile. “Then, please, show me to him… Dearest Seem.”

They shared another happy smile, and moved down the hall.

* * *

Comically exaggerated in their attempts, Tess and Daxter were both carefully sneaking down one of the palace’s open halls on the Eastern side, backs toward the wall, tip-toeing from foot-to-foot, tails held off the floor.

Just ahead of them, Jak stopped. He was attired as usual, simply lacking his Precursor armor, weapons, or the big red scarf he usually wore in the wasteland to help protect his face from sand. He had a tray in his hands, with a few small plates, a glass of milk, and even a little pitcher with a white flower in it. He turned his mock-menacingly sharpened eyes to his right, as if over his shoulder, and then spoke in a firm, low tone out of the side of his mouth. “I know you’re there.”

Tess and Daxter twitched, frozen together, and watched with adorably stoic attempts at pretending to be sculptures as Jak turned around, giving them an amused glare.

Daxter finally realized he couldn’t cover himself at all, and so started speaking before relaxing his pose. “Hiya… Jak… old buddy. We were just…”

“Practicing!” Tess offered, likewise still frozen.

“Right!” her dear ottsel continued emphatically, finally relaxing onto his feet. “Practicing! In case of…”

“Remaining Darken attacks! …?” Tess offered again, easing back once on her own feet, her tone rising hopefully as she batted her eyelashes.

Jak just stared at them for a moment, blinked once, and then smirked. “Well go practice in a hall that _doesn’t_ have Keira’s room.”

The pair of ottsels gave thumbs-up, and shot off with cartoonish zips and trails of dusts. Jak shook his head with an amused sigh, and made his way down the hall, to the new room Keira had been given after the ambush by Jalnoth and Maia on the palace itself. He leaned his head to the door, heard nothing… except the rhythmic, deep breathing of a sleeping Keira. He smiled fondly, practically seeing her asleep, comically sprawled out, not a care in the world on her warm, comforting face. He almost regretted needing to wake her up.

Managing with the tray, he got the door just open, and then backed through it, carefully glancing around to the bed against the left wall. He’d never seen Keira sleeping before, so he needed to be ready to look away if she slept in anything less than full pajamas. Beyond the obvious reasons for that concern, he’d known her since he was practically a baby, it would just be weird seeing her… not fully clothed.

And when he saw her finally, he couldn’t help but stop and half-smile in an adoring manner. He heel-bumped the door to close it gently, backing into it to hear the click, and started for the bed.

Indeed, she was sprawled out completely, the covers half strewn across her middle and left leg, her arms wide across her pillows and the bed itself, her mouth wide open as she almost snored. Her adorable face was completely relaxed, blissfully so Jak was tempted to think, and her blue-green hair remained mostly contoured to her head, the two free locks splayed across the pillow and her left cheek as she kept her head turned toward him. She was wearing a set of pale gray pajamas, practically white, the right leg of which was half-way ridden up her calf from her sleep-shifting.

“Rise and shine, sleepy-head.”

She gave a sound so like a small animal’s squeak that Jak almost burst out laughing, her uncomprehending eyes flaring open, but not focusing on anything as she tried to raise her head. “Mefuh… wha?” Her right hand fell to her face, heavily smearing sleep from her eye. “J-Jak… what are you…?”

She abruptly seemed to clear from her grogginess, and smiled with her happy surprise as he raised the tray gently in his hands. “Breakfast for the hardest worker I know.”

Keira was blushing, and suddenly almost in tears as she tried to sit up. “You brought me breakfast in bed…”

Jak grinned, sitting on the side of her mattress, and let her pull her blanket across her legs as she sat up. He placed the tray across her lap, and surprised her anew with a soft peck on the cheek. She giggled, holding a hand to where his lips touched, and let her blush flare happily as she furtively shared a grateful glance sidelong.

Looking down at the tray she blinked in fresh surprise. “My favorites…”

“I’d hoped so,” Jak admitted meekly, giving her a surprisingly submissive look. “I just picked what I remembered you like back… well…” he glanced off, trying to think of how to say it. Looking back, he shrugged, “in the past.”

Keira giggled bashfully. “You remembered?”

“How could I forget?”

She adorably folded into herself, her cheeks turning red. Jak laughed happily, and she gave him a playful shove. “You’re making fun of me!”

“I can’t help it! You’re adorable when you’re embarrassed!” he retorted as he resisted her valiant shoving.

Her face was just turning redder. “I am not!”

Out in the hall, Tess and Daxter shared a mischievous grin, and started giggling at the comical argument the two were having inside the room.

“Tess… Daxter…” A familiar, gravelly voice built in a patronizing tone from behind them.

Daxter twitched, but Tess just turned around with surprise. Turning finally, Daxter grinned sheepishly. “Hey… big green…”

Samos was giving the pair an amused smirk, very much like Jak’s a few minutes ago. “Why don't you two join Onin, Sig, and the rest of us in the meeting room? We’re going to organize some details about today’s events… and leave our hero and my daughter to their well-earned rest… In private.”

Tess and Daxter were both toeing the ground like disobedient children, but nodded, and giggled together as they followed the sage back into the palace. Tess finally grabbed onto Daxter with a hug. “They’re so cute! Almost as much as _us_ , my snuggly-wuggly-whisker-puss!”

Daxter didn’t even notice the idiotic name, which made even Samos’ expression sink as he walked, and just hugged her back. “Ain’t nobody as good as us, baby…”

“That’s right!”

* * *

King Sig stood at the opposite side of a round table from the entrance to the comfortably sized meeting chamber. Samos, with Daxter and Tess sitting on the table in front of him, stood off to the king’s left, while Onin, with Pecker, as always, on her hat, sat in her usual posture on the table to Sig’s right. Torn was there, just across from Sig and favoring the left side of the table with Samos, and a map of the city was on the table itself.

Sig nodded. “At least temporarily, I think we have the space for everyone. You’re right, Torn. Good work, chili-pepper.” He gave the Haven City commander a wink.

Torn smirked, nodding back. “Thanks.”

And then the door knocked.

“Come on in,” Sig called, still looking down at the map, specifically the East half of the city.

The door drifted open, Seem slipping through first, and then smiled back to someone else before drifting aside for him. Sig finally looked up with the others, Onin already showing astonishment on her aged face.

When Frost came into view, even Torn’s eyes flared. “F-Frost…?”

Tess was simply stunned, Daxter managing, “Whoa!”

The almost completely restored young Freedom Guard commander smiled gently, his old one, a bit softened with experience. “Sorry to surprise you all.” He looked down at himself once through the door, specifically his hands. “It looks like Seem’s gifts are quite powerful indeed.”

Seem blushed gently, adding, “He refuses to admit his own role in his recovery.”

Samos stamped his staff. “By the Precursors! This is spectacular. Congratulations, Frost. I imagine you feel much relief?”

The young man bowed his silver-toned, skull-gem decorated head. “Very. And I can still access the power if needed, but…” he gave Seem a gentle, deeply sincere look of gratitude, “I am quite content.”

Her gently bashful glance down, combined with her warm, subtle smile, showed her pleasure at hearing him saying it.

Daxter grinned. “Yeah. Not to mention the spiffy new style,” he finished with a dry half-grin, leering at Frost from the table while pointing up at his hair.

Frost gave a light laugh, reaching up and running his fingers through his unusually hard hair. It was, indeed, still metal on the silvery ends, but in fine hairs coming from the more natural black roots.

Torn finally collected himself, falling back into his old, confidently wry smirk. “Welcome back to the living.”

Frost chuckled lightly, Seem pressing her lips together as she kept her head faintly bowed, her hands clasped down in front of herself. Sig realized, as he looked at them, that Seem’s naturally humble manner, and Frost’s gentle nobility seemed like two halves of the same whole already. Each was incredibly powerful, but in very different ways… yet complimentary. He smiled as well. “So… when’s the wedding?”

He knew what it would do, especially to Seem, and was proven right instantly. The former monk’s face turned scarlet, which was quite pitiable considering her almost white skin, her eyes widening at the ground, and Frost almost choked, his hand coming up to grasp his own neck as his face turned a brilliant mixture of pink and red.

Onin smirked with her own amusement, and started gesturing. Pecker, having a hard time containing his own mirth, managed, “Onin says that it is best to let the two discover their path their own way, King Sig… but she puts her money on a year from today.”

Seem was almost melting into the floor, completely silent, but Frost finally gasped, “Please!”, staring down at the ground intently himself.

Samos, allowing himself a brief chortle, nodded to Sig, and the king focused on Frost more sincerely. “Just riling you two up, kids. You’re cute when you’re embarrassed together. Now here’s the deal.”

Both Frost _and_ Seem were relieved as the topic changed, the pair stepping up to the table.

Sig continued, “We think the Metal-Heads deserve their part of the party, so we just need to organize letting them inside. Especially those big ones. I’m not entirely sure they’ll fit through the secondary gate.”

Frost smiled easily. “I assure you, they’re quite comfortable outside, King Sig, but if you wish, I can certainly help organize their entrance. We could bring the dune-runners around through the waters, for example, and simply let them march up onto the West side of the city. I’m sure the party will spread across more than the East section.”

Sig grinned. “Exactly.”

Seem gently raised her head, gaining attention. “If it would not disturb anyone,” she gave Frost a particular glance of her crimson eyes, “I would like to tend to something while you organize the Metal-Heads’ entrance.”

Frost tipped his head to her. “You have every right. I would not detain you for my part, Seem.”

She gave him a fond, grateful smile. Sig just nodded to her. “Step to it, Seem. You’ve never asked for something that wasn’t a good thing for someone anyway. Take care until we see you next.”

Seem bowed, gesturing from habit, and smiled warmly. “I shall, thank you all.” She said to the whole group, giving Daxter and Tess a specific look and smile to confirm for them they were included, and then departed quietly.

Frost turned from watching her leave, and caught Daxter’s sly grin. “What?” the former commander asked dryly.

“You got it _bad_ , don’t ya?”

“Or good, as the case may be.”

Daxter laughed, Tess giggling with the others, and they continued to plan.

* * *

Her attire had changed. Rather than the armored bodice, head-dress, and other parts of her old attire, Maia was in a simple set of white sleeping clothes, a tunic and pants. She was asleep, remarkably resembling Keira’s sleeping manner as she lay sprawled out, the blanket twisted around her arm, and spread across her lower body. Her long, _brown_ hair was spread around her head like an upside-down fan, running under her back as well. Unlike Keira, however, she was obviously in deep, deep sleep. Such an ordeal had worn her out that no one begrudged her the rest. It was, however, approaching noon when her door gently drifted open, and two figures drifted inside.

Seem and Siluna moved up to the side of Maia’s bed. Siluna remained standing near the bed, but Seem actually sat on the side, and held her right hand just over Maia’s face, turned toward them as faintly as it was. Nodding to herself, Seem quietly said, “She is well-rested.”

Siluna smiled, Seem pulling her hand back and grasping the closest of Maia’s, which was limply spread in front of Seem. “Maia…? Maia?”

The woman asleep started to stir, moaning faintly in her throat, and then her eyes started to pull open. Even in the dim light of her chamber, they were nearly as bright a red as Seem’s. The hand in Seem’s tightened, and it caused Maia to wake up more fully, privately quite affected by feeling soft hands holding her own. There was also a surprisingly meek air in her eyes as she started to come fully to reality, looking from Seem to the young monk and back. “Is something wrong…?”

Seem smiled warmly, immediately relaxing her. “Not at all, Lady Siluna and I simply wished to address something with you. I… felt it might be of interest to you. Consider it a hunch.”

Gently curious, Maia started to sit up, and Seem easily let the woman pull her hand back to prop herself up a bit. “Alright… what is it?”

Siluna bowed to Maia, gesturing and whispering in the strange language Seem so often used. In that moment, she more strongly resembled the former monk than even Seem herself had noticed before. “First,” the young monk began, “allow me to properly introduce myself. I am formerly Seem’s apprentice, and she has made me head of our order. I am Siluna.”

Maia tipped her head. “…Maia,” she said, not sure what else to under the circumstances.

Siluna smiled pleasantly, as if honored by the name being given, and then continued. “We wished to let you know that there is always a place for you with the monks, if you desire it. A life of simplicity, service, and, if I may say so, great peace of mind and heart.”

Seem tipped her head. “I must agree with her assessment, but the choice is always yours, Maia. We do not want you to feel obligated. We offer this in a spirit of friendship and love, not demand.”

“Indeed,” Siluna added, “we would never want you to join out of obligation. You must do what you feel is best with the talents and understanding you have been given.”

For all their words, the only thing that was really on Maia’s mind was the deep (indeed, she wanted to use the word ‘blessed’) relief, the heartfelt warmth and consolation of the light when Seem had saved her, effectively from herself. In an instant, not just her trauma with the Darken, but all of her questions she’d left unsaid when fighting with Gol had been answered. For all the power she had attained, she had never felt so _good_.

The two guests in her room showed a moment of equal shrewdness, perceiving the deep emotion rushing just behind Maia’s eyes as she worked on her initial response. The woman looked at Seem deeply for a long moment, and then to Siluna, almost curious, as if looking for something. She seemed to find it soon. “…I think I was waiting for you two to come.” She looked down, her voice thoughtful and soft.

Before they could respond, though they shared a meaningful and somewhat surprised glance, Maia looked up with a gentle smile, and said, “I knew immediately that you, Seem, had everything I’ve ever really wanted… _really_ wanted. I know I could never attain what you have, however, so…” she focused on Siluna. “But I see the same thing in you, where it matters.” She turned a bit meek again. “Please don’t be offended, but you simply seem to have gained powers…”

Seem giggled gently, and nodded.

Maia relaxed a bit more, and continued. “I think I’ve progressed too far in a bad way to ever attain _your_ gifts,” she said to Seem, “but I know… I believe the _only_ place for me now… is where you two are.” Turning apologetic again, glancing down from Seem. “At least… where Siluna is. I understand your situation has changed.”

“We understand you perfectly,” Seem answered warmly. “It is what I sensed in you that made me seek Siluna out and ask her to help in this matter now. Your heart longs for a very particular kind of peace, a specific path will grant you happiness, and your eyes were cleared when the power the Precursors blessed me with helped heal you.”

Maia started to smile happily. “I should have realized you would see it…”

Siluna then bowed to them both. “I see a great moment here, between each of you. One glorious in her blessings, the other in turning from a dark path, in answering a better call. How wonderful this is.”

Maia was starting to blush. “I doubt I can be compared to Seem…”

Seem reached up, and placed a hand on Maia’s shoulder. “We were enemies, now we are friends, there is nothing else between us. I am honored to be compared to you. I admire your strength, Maia. I… was tested recently, during the ordeal with the Darken, and it was very little compared to your suffering. Yet you found the strength to accept help when it truly mattered the most.”

Then, looking up at Seem, Maia’s eyes were filling with tears. “…So many died because of my choices…”

Without hesitation, Seem grasped Maia on either side of her face, not tightly, but securely, almost in a form of embrace as they locked gazes. “And no one can truly answer for such sorrow. Accept your recovery, that you are forgiven, and look to the future. Help now, as you can. No more can be asked.”

Maia started to nod, obviously about to sob. Siluna watched with deep sympathy as Seem touched her forehead to Maia’s, and the woman finally broke down, weeping from equal guilt and relief. She collapsed into Seem, and the blessed woman held her consolingly, like an older sister or even a mother. Support, concern, love. The things which Maia had always lacked, feared to be nonexistent, and turned away from as a result, were now all around her. If not for the two people supporting her in that moment, her guilt would have crushed her, but it was so clear they were with her, supporting her, that she could not be crushed… she could only be grateful.

Siluna came close, and knelt down near both of the other women, looking up at Maia as she finally calmed. Resting a hand on the woman’s nearest knee, Siluna said, “We are here for you, Maia.”

Still held by Seem, both of them looking down to Siluna for the moment, tears dripping down her cheeks, Maia reached down, and took Siluna’s hand. “Show me this way…”

Seem was almost in tears herself, and Siluna nodded deeply. “With joy in my heart, sister.”

* * *

Spargus City was alive like never before that afternoon. Haven City hellcats were swirling and barrel-rolling through the sky above it in tricks and displays, with relaxed Freedom League guards, Wastelanders, and even Metal-Heads everywhere. The massive dune-runners, after some safe demonstrations by Jak, Keira, and Seem, were giving young children rides around the West half of the city. The Leaper Metal-Heads, along with the ape-types who crawled on the buildings, helped put up all the decorative banners and guide posts for the hellcats by springing from ground to roof everywhere. The Metalpedes, apparently the most industrious of the Metal-Heads by nature, were quite happy to act as a bit of a tram, running people back and forth from the two halves of the city. In fact, the Metalpedes and dune-runners only paused to enjoy patting or scratching from excited children who were amazed by the creatures… their parents equally so at the obvious safety of the massive, formerly vicious creatures.

Seem and Frost vanished for a short time, only to join the others down in the East part of the city, near the steps to the Arena. Jak was standing with Keira, Samos, Onin with Pecker, Daxter and Tess, King Sig himself, and even Ashelin and Torn were all there. Onin smiled to herself first, but Jak looked off to the right from the steps, and blinked. “Whoa… Keira look.”

She glanced over, a happy smile simply refusing to leave her face as she stood with Jak’s arm about her shoulder. Her smile quickly grew as she saw Seem and Frost… who was wearing normal clothing for the first time since she’d seen him after the change.

“Looking good, chili-pepper!” Sig complimented Frost lightly as they all congratulated Frost anew on his healed form.

Standing in a white tunic, brown pants, with a thick belt, and actually wearing normal shoes for a change, Frost was smiling happily, seemingly only wearing a very subtle crown of some kind where his skull-gem glowed within the lines of silver, and his hair silver-tipped.

Ashelin smiled warmly. “You two just work well together all the time, don’t you?”

Seem blushed gently, Frost tipping his head. “I would say she helps us both achieve more, but she’s far too modest to accept that view of things.”

Indeed, the former monk actually gave him a playful nudge with her elbow as she tried to stand demurely, her hands clasped down in front of herself.

Daxter hopped down with a leering grin. “You two were gone for a while, ya know… have a little fun?”

Seem’s face turned red, her expression melting in shock, but Frost just hopped in front of her before Jak could swat his friend upside the head. With comical exaggeration, Frost huddled around Seem, glaring back at Daxter. “Are you implying a lack of high-standing character in my beloved?” His tone was mock-threatening, a smirk just curving the edge of his lips.

Jak finally swatted his friend with a downward lean from Keira, and chuckled with the others as Seem recovered from her embarrassment, using the moment to hug Frost gently. He tipped his head over hers more sincerely, and then they parted.

Keira grinned. “The Metal-Heads are really helping out, Frost. It’s so wonderful to see.”

His own smile brightened. “Thank you for saying so. They’re actually enjoying it.”

Before more could be said, cheers and applause started to roar from the city, and the group of heroes looked back up the steps… to see the three Precursors waving happily to the crowd, just starting to walk down the steps. The leader resembled royalty as he gave a gentle, reverse-hand wave to the whole city, quite full of his own importance. Jak couldn’t avoid a smirk, but was sincerely happy to see them come out.

In a few minutes, the Precursors were close enough, and so everyone bowed respectfully.

“Come, come, none of this business. Rise, friends. We have a celebration to enjoy!”

Even Torn chuckled, and they turned back to see everyone dancing to random groups of musicians kicking up music. The leader stepped down further, and tugged on Seem’s arm. She twisted, realized who it was, and fell to her knees in front of him apologetically. “What is it, my lord?”

Frost quickly knelt down beside her, further back.

The leader just smiled. “No need to kneel, child. Neither of you,” he gave Frost a kind look, winking at him. “But since you’re down here,” he was smiling at his own humor, “I wanted to again congratulate you. I see you’ve found your new path.”

Seem’s expression softened with deep gratitude. “Yes… I can not thank you enough.” She bowed deeply, her face almost in the sandy dirt.

The leader gently patted her head. “You did your part, Seem. Rest easy.” He glanced up. “Ah… more reasons for congratulations.”

Seem did raise from him, turning with Frost and the others to see the monks moving up, some already on leaper-mounts, trotting along smoothly. Siluna stood at the front with several others, and they knelt down, touching their hands and faces to the sand before the Precursors and the heroes.

“Please rise, loyal servants. I sense you have intention behind your arrival,” the Precursor leader continued as the others watched with interest. Seem was the only one with a knowing smile other than the Precursors.

Only then did they stand, but Siluna nodded. “Yes, makers. You honor us with your presence, but we wished to personally introduce our newest sister to you.”

Frost glanced to Seem curiously, and she smiled for him, the others watching with interest as the party continued around them in the city. The hellcats were starting to land to let the pilots join in the fun on the ground.

The front group of monks parted, Siluna moving to her left, and angled back to gesture at another figure. At first no one except Seem recognized her, clad in a rubber and armored robe similar to Seem’s original attire, her face painted in two orange spikes down over her eyes, gold across them in a band, with her skin painted white and her hair pulled back into a Precursor-metal head-dress. Her head was bowed, and she was walking very humbly. Once she came forward, she knelt down, and bowed her head almost the ground in front of the Precursors.

The leader smiled, the surfer nodding with a chuckle as he nudged the dummy with his elbow. The leader continued, “And a most welcome member she is. Rise… Maia.”

Jak and Keira were not the only members of the group to gawk, even Frost’s mouth falling open as he finally recognized her when she stood, her bright red eyes opening with gentle tears. “You are most kind…” she said to the leader.

“You are a living example that gives hope to us all, Maia. Take heart in that, and move forward.” He brought his staff over, and touched her forehead gently. He had to get on tip-toes before she realized what he was doing, and bowed to his gesture. The leader looked past her, to Siluna, and nodded. “Lead them well, Siluna. And trust that your mentor chose rightly.”

Siluna blushed, but bowed deeply.

Maia gently pulled back, and looked up to Siluna, who nodded with a light smile. Turning her attention up to Jak, Maia said, “I can only ask your forgiveness. Jak, Keira, Samos… I can offer no reason for it.”

Keira smiled. “I told you you had it.”

Jak nodded meaningfully, and Samos gave Maia a gentle smile. Maia bowed deeply, and when she rose up, had a soft humor in her eyes. “We came to invite you to a race, Hero. We have more than enough leapers to go around.”

Jak grinned, and Frost looked to Seem with a mild one of his own. She nodded to him, and Frost stepped forward as Jak hopped down, the two sharing a look… and immediately smirking at each other.

“Rematch?” Frost started.

Jak gave a thumbs up. “You’re on.”

Keira giggled, Seem stepping up to join her. “I think you better show them the starting line before they start arm-wrestling.”

Both men laughed, blushing a bit, but the monks were happy to oblige, leading off a little from the stairs. Keira gently turned to Seem. “…I never saw Frost so happy. Not before his transformation even. Thank you for being there for him.”

Seem looked at Keira with soft surprise, but smiled warmly. “Thank you for telling me this… I am also grateful I could be with him. And Jak seems deeply relieved to have your affections confirmed in his heart.”

Keira blushed gently, but was smiling with deep sincerity. So with Daxter and Tess lounging together on the steps, Sig, Torn, Ashelin, Samos, Onin, Pecker, the Precursors, Seem, and Keira settled in to watch the race as the leapers all lined up, twelve of them, with Jak and Frost at the back.

Light-rings had already been set up around the city in a course, each ring had to be hit in order or the racer was eliminated. They resembled large discs of floating, evanescing blue light, almost clear in the center, brightest at the edges, and solidly floating in place wherever they were located. The last ring, which floated just behind Jak and Frost, was a bright, orange-red hue to signal its importance.

The Precursor leader raised his staff, and let it give a bright flash. With it, the small-winged lizards were off, leaping and snapping through the air as they rushed through the rings. Careful not to get too violent with any other racers, especially each other, Frost and Jak quickly hopped and skipped between the monks, Frost actually bounding off the sidewall of a building at one point, Jak opting to fly clear over a bridge.

It was a winding, twisted course, with rapid elevation changes that only a leaper could hope to reach at the speed and distances where the discs waited. Rounding wide to the left, back corner of the East half of the city, the leapers were rushing along roof-tops, Jak and Frost in the lead, but only by a margin compared to the experienced riders of the monks. They came all the way back around, sprang through a ring and _onto_ the steps of the arena high above their friends, the crowd gasping with surprise, Keira giggling, though a bit anxious about the danger as they sprang back onto the next set of roofs.

Here, Frost miss-timed a jump, and fell behind several monks and Jak, but he started right back up, twisted, leapt back through the ring he’d missed, and kept on going. In just a few seconds they were rushing down the center of the Eastern city, Frost back in third place, closing on second rapidly enough to have a chance at first, and Jak did one last jump with his leaper, sailing clear through the last ring just as he landed, Frost’s leaper diving through it from the ground.

Landing past Jak, Frost laughed, the monks skidding to a halt as the rings vanished. Trotting back over, Frost nodded to the hero. “Well done. You’re as good on a Zoomer as you are on a leaper.”

Jak scratched his mount’s neck, which chirped appreciatively. “I’m good with animals,” he said with a light smirk, nodding to Daxter as he looked back to Frost.

The former commander chuckled anew, and dismounted.

As they came back to the steps, Maia clapping for them with an amused smile, the Precursors hung back. Keira gave Jak a hug and kiss on the cheek, which he gladly returned, and Seem took Frost’s hand as soon as she could. Standing off on the right, just past Sig and Onin, Ashelin saw the two women with their ‘boyfriends’, and eyed Torn on her left with an almost predatory glee.

Torn’s eyes blinked wide, unable to contain his surprise even with his usual gruff manner, as Ashelin slapped her arm down over his shoulders and tugged herself right up against him. “You don’t mind, do you? Just peer pressure, I couldn’t help it,” she finished with mock-innocence, not even hiding her mischievous smirk as she looked at him with a swing of her hair.

Torn eyed her, slack-jawed for a moment as he tried to respond, but was saved by a staff tapping on the steps… somewhat. Ashelin remained stuck to him, and judging by the faint color on his cheeks, he didn’t mind _too much_.

The Precursor leader had called for attention, his staff’s knocking unnaturally loud, but not deafening, so everyone was soon looking to them. “People of this world, brave heroes every one, you have helped defeat an ancient and powerful foe of the Precursors!”

Cheers broke out, even Ashelin and Keira raising one arm and shouting happily. Jak smiled, finding Keira’s childish exuberance all the more adorable.

The leader continued, “And so, enjoy your celebration whole-heartedly, it was well-earned. As for us, we must away, for there are other worlds in danger, and we would not want to distract you too much with our presence, since many seem to find it necessary to bow at the sight of us!” The clear humor in his tone allowed most of the crowd to laugh or at least giggle.

And then he bowed. “So we shall depart.”

A thunderous cheer rose from the city, more pouring in from the West side as people flooded in to wish them farewell. The leader, however, looked down to Jak. “Again, we invite you to join us Jak… Mar. We have so much we can show you.”

Jak looked into Keira’s eyes, and saw a well-hidden fear in them that he might accept, leave… And he looked back to the Precursors. “I’m sorry. I’m honored, but… I need to stay here… with my girlfriend.”

Keira turned scarlet, but was giggling and deeply happy as she bowed her head from view.

The leader smiled, nodded, and gave a final wave, the three of them turning, and walking back up into the arena. Daxter joined in the crowd’s clapping. “Not so bad, ya know? Those zap-happy fur-balls are alright…”

Tess smirked, and tackled him into the ground with a hug. He yelped, but was soon making other noises that indicated he didn’t mind too much.

Jak turned to face Keira. “Told you I’d get it right the next time.”

She nodded, actually crying and giggling at the same time before he pulled her into a warm hug, and she just held him back, smiling.

As the Precursors stepped under the awning of the arena entrance on the right, the dummy seemed troubled. “But I thought that was his queen?”

The leader walloped him upside the head with his staff. “Not yet, you idiot! And don’t go blabbing about it, either. Last time you told the hero and his girlfriend they’d be king and queen, they broke up!”

The surfer waved one hand near his head. “It was gnarly man. It’s this whole ‘their future, our past’ thing and all that jazz… or something…”

“Yes, yes, quite,” the leader muttered busily. “Not let’s get on our ship and get out of here. I need a new crew…” but his two companions were already laughing together, walking ahead of him, completely oblivious. He just rolled his eyes, “Oh bother,” and kept walking.

So the grand Precursor ship rose high into the sky, to a fresh thunder of applause and cheering before vanishing through the clouds with a stretching, flashing warp of its form. Down in the city, Sig chuckled, and hopped down into a large mass of people already dancing to music. “Let’s have some fun, chili-peppers!”

He took the hands of the closest woman, a blushing but desert-hardened young Wastelander, and just danced into the crowd with her, the woman soon laughing and enjoying herself again. Keira dragged Jak out, both laughing, and they started to dance. Even the visible Metal-Heads were bobbing heads or swaying to the music, a few Leapers jumbling their legs beneath their bodies in an apparent dance-competition, each trying to one-up the previous.

Not too long after, Ashelin pulled Torn toward the dancing.

“Hold on! I know I stepped on your toes last time… do we _have_ to dance?” Torn pleaded, some emotion actually coloring his voice a bit.

Ashelin paused, smirking at him, and it was clear it was not what he wanted to see. “That’s why I’m wearing steel-toed boots. Now show me you can have as good a time as you can shoot. You deserve to relax after saving my life… that’s an order!” she finished playfully, but didn’t mind forcing him out with her before he actually started to dance.

Frost raised his eyebrows, standing with Seem, Maia, Siluna, Onin, Samos, and Pecker on the steps. Tess had just dragged Daxter out, the pair scuttling around in the most energetic dancing visible.

“Looks like Torn really does know how to dance,” Frost muttered, watching the governor and commander swing each other around, Torn actually starting to smile a bit, Ashelin laughing already.

Seem smiled gently. “Do you?”

Frost blushed, blinking at her. “M-me…? I… well…”

Seem was controlling her amusement, but then both she and Frost actually yelped, blushing, as they were stung in the behinds. They both hopped out from the steps and looked back to see a smirking Onin, Pecker grinning on her hat. “Onin thinks you two need to get down and _boogy_!” He started moonwalking on the mystic’s hat.

The two looked to each other, checking. Sharing an amused smile, they each nodded, and then took hands, playfully rushing into the crowd, spinning around together, laughing and happy. Seem’s hair and clothes streamed with her rushing and spinning, Frost keeping her from flying off by holding securely onto her hands.

Samos chuckled, Maia smiling as she watched with an equally pleased Siluna, the young leader of the monks watching her mentor be so happy and relaxed. It was a wonderful day, and one they were all very happy to be part of.

Towards evening, with the sun setting, the whole group was over on the sandy beach down near the protecting gun-turret. A large blanket had been spread out, Jak sitting with Keira leaned back against him, Daxter and Tess sprawled out together down by their legs, Frost and Seem sitting together nearer the back, Siluna and Maia kneeling with Onin, Pecker, and Samos, and even Ashelin and Torn sitting together just off the blanket, on the sand, a calmly appreciative pair. King Sig was with them, perched back on a rock, half-smiling as he watched the sun go down.

The largest Metal-Heads were facing outward, as if admiring the sunset themselves, the distant sound of music still rolling from the East half of the city. They were all together, happy, united, and with the promise of a free future open before them, almost like the fading sun was a doorway. The dark war was over, and a group of friends was still together, bound by loyalty, love, and duty. Perhaps new challenges lay ahead, but right then…

Everything was safe, peaceful… and wonderfully happy.


	16. Epilogue: Full Circle

“I appreciate being flown back to Haven City… but why am I blindfolded?” Frost asked over the rush of the wind. He was seated in a hellcat cruiser, on the right side, in a black shirt, matching pants, and boots, with a strip of white cloth wrapped snuggly around his head at eye-level.

Driving the cruiser was none other than Seem, in her same armored gown, the wind lashing at her hair as she smiled gently at him. “It has been a month since we defeated the Darken, and you have still not set foot in Haven City since your initial transformation. All of your friends are upset about this, and so I agreed to fly you in using one of the left-over hellcats.”

Frost sighed, but was clearly amused. “We were helping get the Metal-Heads situated, and doing repairs on the temple. The desert is my home now…” he softened his voice before adding, “with you.”

Her gentle smile warmed. “Our home is where we are together. Haven City has special memories for you, memories I want you to be able to cherish for a good deal longer with fresh reminders.”

Frost couldn’t see it, but they were already passing over the city. It looked even more beautiful than before, during the Baron’s reign. The ominous palace was replaced with the more humble, practical Freedom League fortress in the center, the bazaar area had been restored, the bay as well, and even the former headquarters of the freedom league in the newest part of the city, built over the old water-ways.

The former Freedom League guard himself replied to his beloved with the same gentle amusement. “I doubt I’ll forget the parts of Haven City I cherish so much any time soon. …But you’re right, I’ll be glad to see it again… So why the blindfold?” He raised his original question dryly.

Seem was allowing her mischievous smile to be clear since he couldn’t see. “You shall see, love. Patience.”

He sighed in amused exasperation, and crossed his arms. “Fine, fine.”

Soon, the hellcat slowed, and was dropping through the air smoothly. Frost waited, felt the vehicle halt completely, and by the sound, could tell they were just over the ground, effectively landed. Seem got out, came around, and gripped his arm. Frost chuckled a bit, but she helped him out, blind as he was. His feet touched dirt, which made his brow crease faintly. “Where are we?”

“Wait, just a moment more,” Seem answered cryptically, though she sounded quite happy.

Frost felt Seem take his shoulders, and turn him away from the hellcat, putting the nose of the vehicle at his back. Then she loosened the blind, and let it slip away from his face.

His eyes blinked open… and he froze, his eyes slowly growing wide. Seem gently leaned around him, her gentle expression passive, watching his growing, powerful reaction to what he was seeing.

The city gardens had been restored. The high walls rose on either side of the twisting, winding paths, grass, lush and healthy, grew on either side of the narrow dirt path, and gardens of naturally-grown vegetables were even then being watered by the large sprinkler jets at the base of certain sections of the gardens area, the former Metal-Head nest.

Frost swallowed hard. They were standing at the entrance to the gardens from the restored bazaar, the snaking path branching off visibly before vanishing with its own curve. Seem gently placed a hand on Frost’s shoulder as tears started to drip from his eyes. He could see her… his sister, her husband, their children, resting under… the very tree, or at least a tree in the very spot he could see not ten meters away.

He remembered her lovely voice, warm with fondness, telling him, _“I love the city gardens, Frost. They’re so naturally beautiful, even for all the structure of the city. I go there, and this war, this fighting, all seems far away… Except for those pesky Zoomers!”_ And she had broken down into giggles.

Yet right now, there were no Zoomers filling the sky above him. It was beautifully clear, peaceful, with just the distant sound of rushing water.

Frost sank to his knees, Seem slipping down with him, but then let him fold over, his hands actually caressing the dirt in front of his knees before he kissed the ground. Tears were splattering in the dirt before he started to pull himself up. He finally held a hand to his mouth, trying to control himself, and so Seem gently wrapped her arms around him, supporting him as he started to sink against her completely.

“…Thank you,” he whispered.

“I am very glad I could be part of this gift to you, but it was not me alone. There is something else I wish to show you, if I may…?”

He pulled up enough to nod to her, and they stood up together. His emotions were calming, but he was still deeply wistful as he looked around. Seem led him up the path, holding his hand softly. When they reached the first branch in the path, Seem led him around… and waiting there, on a large blanket, with several sizeable baskets and food already spread out, were all their friends.

Jak and Keira were sitting together nearest the turn, and were smiling happily up at Frost. Daxter and Tess were ‘sunning’ themselves in the middle. Ashelin and Torn were seated beside Sig himself, with Maia and Siluna kneeling beside him in turn near the back of the blanket, all of them putting their food down. Samos, Onin, and Pecker were even there, a little more distant, but watching Frost as he came into view.

Frost’s eyebrows rose up. “You’re all here…”

Ashelin smiled, stood up, and walked over to him. “When we thought you’d died, everyone put redoubled effort into restoring the gardens. We knew how much it would mean to you, so it felt like the best way to honor your memory. When we found out you were alive, we decided to dedicate it to someone… who _you_ would think it appropriate to dedicate to.”

Torn smiled as he looked over, dry and calm as ever, but sincere. “The entrance to the gardens now has a plaque over it. In memory of your sister and her family.”

Tears were rushing back to Frost’s eyes, and he tried to talk. Keira cooed adoringly and sympathetically, pressing her lips together with a soft pout. Ashelin, however, just came closer and hugged him, patting his back. “They’d be proud of you.”

He choked on a sob, but returned her embrace before pulling back with a soft nod, managing to mouth ‘thank you’… which got across more than enough sincerity in his gratitude.

Daxter hopped up. “So are you gonna stand there like a cry-baby, or come enjoy this food we made for ya!”

“Daxter!” most of the group present shouted, specifically Samos, Keira, and Jak. Even Onin gave a sharp jerk of her hand.

Frost actually laughed. “It’s alright. He’s right. Get me some of that food!”

With a fresh laugh from everyone, Maia giggling as she took her plate up again, Frost pulled Seem with him gently and playfully, sitting her down with him near Jak and Keira as Ashelin sat back down with Torn. Keira pulled plates over, already filled with fruit, sandwiches, and plastic cups of juice for the two late arrivals.

Soon everyone was having a wonderful time. Chatting, joking, and simply enjoying each others’ company, even the basic concerns of life seemed far away. As the others started sharing funny stories, Frost set his plate down, and looked to Seem softly. She looked into his eyes, and smiled in her adorably gentle way. Frost reached up, and caressed her cheek. She let her eyes close appreciatively, and then eased toward him. He let his eyes shut, and they kissed softly.

Keira’s adoring squeak made them split apart, blushing, but the blue-green-haired woman was completely happy for them. “You two are so cute!”

Seem smiled, Frost smirking. “So are you two.”

Keira blushed happily, Jak coughing into one hand with more discretion.

Sig leaned back with a leisurely sigh. “Might surprise you chili-peppers to know I’m quite the romantic myself. Yes, sir. Lovey-dovey isn’t too sappy for good ole Sig.”

Ashelin smirked. Daxter, however, hopped up, shaking his head. “Don’t even start, ya big-bag-a-muscle. You shattered your image with yak-cow milk and poopsy bear last time, don’t do it again!”

The red-headed governor of the city gave Torn a dryly amused look. “Well it must be too sappy for Torn here.” She looked up and off in a mock-huff as Torn gave her a dry side-long glare. “I suppose it’s just too much to ask for a little kiss or something, even in a romantic setting, not a cloud in the sky—!”

She was cut-off with a muffled yelp, the others gawking in surprise, even Onin, as Torn simply twisted around, gripped her, and pulled her down into a kiss. At first Ashelin kicked from reflex, but her leg paused in mid upward swing, and slowly eased down as her eyes closed with the kiss.

Daxter and Pecker were slack-jawed, Samos and everyone else simply wide-eyed.

Torn broke the kiss calmly, gave her a dry smirk, and helped her sit back upright from being pulled over his lap by the shoulders. Ashelin was simply sitting there, a distant, but very sincere smile on her face, and seemed quite appeased. Only then did Torn start to blush a bit, coughing down into his fist rather like Jak.

Pecker couldn’t contain himself. “Where did _that_ come from!?”

Daxter started to grin, Tess giggling as the others recovered from their shock, even Seem stifling laughter into her hand. The trouble-making ottsel hopped up and down. “I know where it come from, I just never knew ya had it in ya, Torn! Not bad for an angsty, silent-but-deadly undergrounder, eh?”

Torn had his knife out and pointing at Daxter with a flat glare. “Watch it, rat-face, or you’ll get an unscheduled tonsillectomy.”

“Same old Torn,” Daxter said with mock-motherly adoration.

It caused Torn to firm his expression, frown to the side, and put his knife away as the others stifled laughter afresh, even Ashelin. Before Daxter could continue, however, Tess grabbed him in a perfect reversal of Torn’s kiss to Ashelin, muffling and lulling the little fur-ball into a contented puddle on her lap, allowing her to grin up at everyone.

Maia couldn’t avoid a smirk. “Effective control…”

Siluna coughed trying to avoid laughing, Sig and Maia quickly moving to see if she was alright.

“Very effective indeed, now pass me that fruit-bowl,” Frost said with a badly hidden grin, leaning across everyone.

Laughing, Sig handed it to the Metal-Head leader, and they started chatting again, even Torn joining in on the conversation more easily. It seemed a certain barrier had been broken for him, but he was very much his calm, controlled, low-spoken self.

And there they were. Friends and comrades, laughing and enjoying their lives together in a renewed city, fully restored, and with new hopes brought to life. From a woman redeemed from darkness, to a warrior of light, and everyone in between, they were a strange, happy, loving family in a world in desperate need of recovery. And for that day, they could simply enjoy it. It was the beginning of a new, bright future, for all.

The End


End file.
